By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The city of Great Bend is always trying to improve life for its residents, and the world of technology is always changing. Merging those two components makes for a busy IT department. The city opened its new mini-soccer pitch at Heizer Park in May. IT Director James Cell said the city is utilizing a new camera system, which has already played a role in one incident near the park.
"We worked with Nex-Tech and a couple other people to make sure we had internet to get the cameras set up down there," he said. "We got them set up, and now they have cameras down there. If anything happens in the area, we're able to make sure we have coverage for it."
From dial-up to cable to wireless, internet services have also evolved over the past 25 years. More and more, the city of Great Bend is utilizing air fiber technology, a high-speed service that uses wireless radio waves to transmit data. Assistant Systems Administrator Robby Wilcox said the city recently linked a pair of city buildings with the technology to help preserve data used by police.
"This is kind of just a secure line from the police department to the utility building," he said. "We have some back-up equipment in place, so it's in two locations. In case a disaster happens at the police department, we have back-ups in a second location."
The Expo Complex west of Great Bend already had internet connectivity. The city also used air fiber to connect the Expo Complex with the nearby GBPD gun range to allow connectivity at that more remote location.