Smart City Networks, the nation’s leading telecommunications provider for the convention industry, hosted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday to review the communications infrastructure at the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Park.
“Smart City began in Houston more than 30 years ago,” said Mark Haley, President of Smart City Networks. “It was a top priority for 
us to keep emergency response teams and those affected connected when it matters the most. We had a productive meeting with Chairman Pai to give the FCC a thorough update on not only our efforts at our Houston facilities to support the local community, but also in how we design networks that work reliably for both tradeshows and unexpected events like Harvey.”
Telecommunication infrastructures at the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Park include automated redundancy and safeguards that have been built into the networks to ensure reliability in natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey. Also, Smart City has opened up Wi-Fi throughout both facilities and have deployed telephones, internet drops, and power drops as required by city officials and the Red Cross.
In addition to the two shelters in Houston, Smart City has also played an essential role in telecommunication efforts at shelters opened in the Fort Worth Convention Center and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Smart City provided Wi-Fi throughout both venues along with hardline phones, internet drops and VLAN connections for emergency responders and the Red Cross.
