What about the cost to install a camera, and the equipment and manpower to run them?
think about the infrastructure needed to deploy and communicate with the device.. somewhere along the line, communications facilities are needed for
groups of these cameras, be it verizon or another local exchange carrier that supplies the T1, DS3, or OCx circuits.
A single T1 circuit (1.522mpbs) is sufficient to transport a single video stream and other data, the cheapest the company I work for offers is upwards
of $300 per month (MRC)
A DS3 has 28 T1 channels... so it can get VERY expensive for bandwidth, for something as stupid as a speed camera.
Lets not forget the useless infrastructure that is needed for these devices, probably fiber, which we are talking about equipment and installation
approaching $250,000 for underground multimode outdoor fiber, poles, concrete, conduit, cable vaults, splice boxes, right of way leasing, ilec
transport fees, colo space, electricity, relay rack or server space in a colocation, maintenance, data warehousing,
The list can go on and on. This is not a simple or cheap endeavor, and we are paying for it, so we can get a ticket from a robot, and so a private
company can make millions..........that we the taxpayers BOUGHT FOR THEM.
edit on 17-1-2012 by sicksonezer0 because: (no reason given)