Board Member Katie Cristol
- On Arlington County
“Arlington was among the earliest municipalities in the U.S. to build its own secure high-speed fiber network– ConnectArlington, to meet the growing needs of its government operations, and local businesses and organizations. Since then, ConnectArlington has become a critical component of our infrastructure, supporting public safety, traffic operations, communications and educational needs. It boosts economic development by attracting and retaining companies and it fosters digital inclusion, which aims to bring connectivity to community members who lack the means to provide adequate internet access for their households. Arlington today continues to explore the potential of broadband and the many ways it can help our County.”
- On Next Century Cities
“Simply put, broadband is about connectivity and information sharing. For our nation to remain a leader in this space, our cities and counties must do the same—connect and share our best practices, innovations and lessons learned. Next Century Cities affords a unique opportunity to collaborate and strengthen our nation’s technology infrastructure and accelerate progress together.”
- What Arlington County is working on
“Arlington County has built a platform for digital connectivity known as ConnectArlington. ConnectArlington is the County’s own dedicated fiber optic network that links government offices, libraries, police and fire stations, and the County’s K-12 schools via a fast and secure connection. ConnectArlington also serves as the primary communications infrastructure for our public safety radio network used by first responders. It includes fiber capacity designated for long-term expansion. The County is making this additional dark fiber capacity available to research, education, and business organizations for high-speed, secure data transmission. The County anticipates that this dark fiber will bolster economic and community development, and digital inclusion efforts. Marymount University, Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland’s Mid-Atlantic Crossroads, a multi-state optical transport network known as “MAX” are among the first beneficiaries of our available dark fiber. ConnectArlington will serve as a key driver for increasing the availability of high speed internet services and enabling meaningful competition. We will continue to develop new and innovative ways to promote digital inclusion and support the beneficial use of our dark fiber infrastructure by businesses, government agencies, research and education institutions, as well as broadband and internet service providers.”
