CITY OF TUCSON
1775 Year Founded
40mi 2
LTE service tower coverage
6,500 Number of Employees
Drive for digital equality in Tucson with the rollout of a municipal broadband network which will eventually give 32,000 households free internet access
A polar vortex followed by a global pandemic sound like themes from a Hollywood movie , but for Collin Boyce , Chief Information Officer at City of Tucson , these are two very real challenges he has navigated during his digital journey working in government administrations .
“ The City of Tucson is building innovation bridges while we are still walking along them ,” said Boyce , who set in motion a plan for free internet access , from the municipally-owned broadband network to 1,000 households during COVID-19 - despite being stuck in lockdown 2,420 miles away in New York City .
A total of US $ 4.4m from the federal CARES Act fund has been invested in a community wireless program for the second poorest city in the US ( after El Paso , Texas ). In partnership with Insight Enterprises , the City of Tucson is working to provide service and routers to eligible residents , schools and offices that lack at-home internet connections .
Boyce possessed a clear leadership vision to deal with the challenges of the pandemic and is now working to bridge the digital divide for many of the Arizona-state citizens living in the poorer neighbourhoods and drive ahead with the City ’ s vision of becoming a smart city .
“ Data is the new capital of our century ,” said Boyce , who also mobilised more than 6,000 local government employees to work
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