JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, JEA and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority are consolidating their Internet service in a move that will produce up to $200,000 in combined savings annually. Mayor Alvin Brown announced the cost-savings move at a news conference Monday.
"This is a great opportunity for all the partner agencies to work together to provide superior service and save money at a time we need to make every dollar count," Brown said. "With a growing number of websites and applications helping to expand the reach of city government, we owe it to taxpayers to invest wisely in the most effective and efficient systems to keep everyone connected."
The consolidation, led by the city's Information Technologies Division, delivers improved Internet service to the city and partner agencies, while cutting combined costs by up to $200,000 annually once all the partner agencies are implemented. The new service, provided by Florida LambdaRail, more than doubles the city's network capacity, switching from a 355 megabyte network to 1 gigabit of service. The expansion will improve network capacity at various city facilities, including many libraries, allowing for faster browsing and increased efficiencies for citizens and government employees.
"The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is pleased to be part of a project that is projected to save more than $200,000 a year for the city and partnering agencies," Sheriff John Rutherford said. "This effort will provide the Sheriff's Office the potential for increased bandwidth in the future. This technology initiative will support both our Intelligence-Led Policing programming and public communication efforts."
"The opportunity to save taxpayer money and move to the next generation Internet service that more than doubles the city's network capacity will ensure we keep up with the ever-growing citizen demands for increased online content at enhanced speeds," said Councilman Jim Love, chairman of the Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee. "Sharing the LambdaRail Internet service with other city agencies is exactly the kind of savings that consolidated government can bring to its citizens."
"This is an opportunity to knit all the different independent agencies and the city together on a pipeline, a pipeline we expect to one day in the near future to provide us real-time customer info to our riders so they can look at a device like a phone and know when the next bus is arriving and departing," said Nat Ford, CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
The improved service is now live in government facilities across Jacksonville. The city is currently working to roll out service to all partner agencies. To learn more about Florida LambdaRail, visit www.flrnet.org.