To install this neighborhood network and 9 more like it in Dallas, the city used $2 million in federal COVID-19 relief money from the CARES program.
“I think this is some of the best use of the CARES Act dollars that we have made,” council member Casey Thomas said.
Another $2.8 million of federal money paid for 10 more neighborhood networks connected wirelessly to city buildings with Wi-Fi transmitters mounted on new street light poles.
Council member Paula Blackmon said those poles provide an additional benefit.
“Lighting up, we ve all been talking about how lighting can help bring our crime numbers down,” Blackmon said.