Broadband Internet access is considered by many to be a necessity and many people don't want to lose that connection when they leave their house or local hotspot.
The county's law enforcement agencies are no different as technological advancements over the past 20 years have given officers many new tools that make them more efficient and give them a leg up on the criminals they pursue.
FIGHTING CRIME WITH TECHNOLOGY
Thanks to several recent grant awards and a newly negotiated contract with an international wireless service provider, every police vehicle in the county will soon be a mobile-broadband substation, complete with new technology and software that will ensure local cops have instant access to information such as active warrants and satellite images of suspect locations.
Recently the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department signed a new five-year contract with wireless provider AT&T.
And with the telecommunication company's network in the county on track to be upgraded to the much faster 3G system by the end of the year, both law enforcement officials and AT&T customers will benefit by enjoying data transfer speeds comparable to those of broadband cable, even on the go.
"We've been replacing technology in 119 police cars throughout the county in anticipation of the 3G network," said Sgt. Vincent Gerace with the sheriff's department. "Right now our data transfer rates are very slow, relative to today's standards. The upgrade will allow police officers to check warrants and get information much faster than they currently do, saving a lot of time in the long run."
A spokeswoman for AT&T said that the company was pleased to ink the deal with law enforcement in the county and excited to bring 3G technology at the same time.
"The law enforcement community is one of our key market segments and we've been able to develop technology to help them do their jobs," said Alexa Kaufman of AT&T. "Without discussing specific details about the deal, we did include high-speed modems for the police cars as part of the contract. We hope that our technology will give the police what they need to catch even more bad guys."
In most of the police vehicles in the county, officers have limited Internet access with some sites blocked, similar to Internet restrictions implemented in some professional offices. Some police departments have the Internet blocked altogether, but all officers have access to a couple of electronic tools that make them more efficient.
Gerace explained that once the new system is operating and each police vehicle equipped with the latest technology, every police cruiser will be it's own secure, mobile hotspot, allowing officers to access important data and systems within seconds, rather than minutes.
Just like the technological upgrades recently installed by the county's technical services employees, the monthly access fees to AT&T's network are being covered by a Homeland Security grant.
In a demonstration of the current system, it took several minutes to load a secure Web portal which local police use to check for warrants from each police jurisdiction in the county. Once the 3G system is active, those minutes will no longer be spent waiting for a page to load on the vehicle's laptop computer.
Interactive mapping and satellite imaging software such as Google Earth are also utilized by law enforcement agents, but currently, those utilities are almost unusable because of the slow data-transfer rates.
Sgt. Gerace said that one of the future goals for the county involves equipping each law enforcement vehicle with cameras capable of streaming live video back to a department's home base, allowing for better information to make decisions based upon.
"If an administrator can watch a pursuit in real time as it happens, they will be better equipped to make decisions about what to do next and when to end the chase," Gerace said. "There are a number of possibilities for the future, and that's just one example."
IMPROVING THE CITIZEN'S CELLULAR EXPERIENCE
In a previous interview with Bob Holliday, vice president and general manager for AT&T in Upstate New York, he explained that the road to a fast, modern 3G network in Chautauqua County wasn't easy or cheap.
According to Holliday, the company has spent a lot of time and money bringing local systems up to AT&T specifications since it acquired Dobson Communications, which operated Cellular One locally, in December 2007. The upgrade did occasionally cause irregularities in customer experiences, but has concluded and the upgrade to 3G will provide many new opportunities for local customers.
"We firmly believe that investing into the infrastructure can spur economic development and we've invested more than $1.3 billion in Upstate New York between 2006 and 2008," Holliday said. "Among the benefits of 3G, people will have the ability to share streaming, real-time video, which is a great thing for a number of reasons."
Video Share is the name of the AT&T cellular service which allows two customers connected to a 3G network to share streaming video with each other in real time, even during a phone call.
The service has the potential to allow families to share special moments otherwise missed due to distance, clarify exactly what you're supposed to be buying at the grocery store per the request of your significant other or even allow digitally-connected but couch potato friends of yours to experience your adventures as you live them.
If a cell phone isn't what you're in the market for, AT&T will also be offering USB Connect and wireless broadband cards for your laptop or home computers, which will enable a customer to utilize a high-speed internet connection anywhere within the coverage area. In many rural parts of the county where high-speed internet can only be obtained through expensive satellite-based options, AT&T stands to bridge the gap and connect residents to the World Wide Web wirelessly.
State Sen. Cathy Young, R-Olean, is supportive of AT&T's investment in Chautauqua County and cited the direct and potential benefits to the residents.
"AT&T is creating economic opportunity in Chautauqua County by expanding critical wireless access, providing faster and better options for everything from reaching emergency services to conducting business to sharing information with family and friends," Sen. Young said. "Expanding wireless infrastructure, particularly mobile broadband, is a valuable service to rural areas and small cities and towns in western New York, which will help grow the economy and improve the quality of life."
In addition to extending its 3G wireless broadband network, AT&T plans to add a new cell site in Clymer bringing new wireless coverage to the area by 2010.
Holliday said that the Clymer site is the only ''new'' coverage area the company is announcing at this time, but confirmed that there are several other sites they are looking at expanding coverage to, pending local approval in each municipality of interest.
"We continue to make significant investments to deliver dependable, high speed wireless access in more places across New York for consumers and business customers who need to stay connected to work, family and friends," said Jay Summerson, vice president of external affairs, AT&T New York. "Our ongoing investments in Chautauqua County will help us fulfill this vision while ensuring that New Yorkers have access to the advanced wireless broadband services that help drive economic growth."
