Pittsburgh port adds waterway Wi-Fi

   The Port of Pittsburgh Commission has taken steps to develop its “Wireless Waterway” project, which will provide a network connection to ships transiting the city’s locks and dams.
   The port awarded a $1.3 million contract to CONXX, a Maryland-based company that builds networks and services for government and public sector projects. In specific, CONXX will build, manage, market, and maintain the port’s wireless network system infrastructure, including running a test along the navigable waterways in Pittsburgh.
   The wireless service will integrate cameras, sensors, security management systems, and general connectivity for the port, government agencies, and vessel operators. The commission said the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies will be involved.
   The hope is that this data-sharing will increase port efficiency.
   Initially, the test portion will cover locks and dams in the Pittsburgh Pool at Emsworth (Ohio River), Braddock (Monongahela River), and Allegheny (Allegheny River). The port said the network should be scalable and eventually extend to seven additional sets of locks in three more counties.
   “For years the National Academy of Sciences has been urging ‘non-structural’ improvements to the waterways,” said James McCarville, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, in a statement. “Critical structural problems with the locks and dams prevented (the Army Corps of Engineers) from engaging in these innovative means. It is a problem, but it is also an opportunity.” – Geoff Whiting