HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 05 22 Regular 300 Issue of WiFi
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM 300
Consent
Informational
Public Hearing
Regular X
May 22. 2006
Regular Meeting
Mgr./Dept.
Authorization
REQUEST:
Information Services wishes to discuss the issue of WiFi
and requests further direction from Commission on this
issue.
PURPOSE:
To furnish information to the Commission on issues relative to WiFi
and to open discussion on options for future WiFi for the City of
Winter Springs.
CONSIDERATIONS:
In May 2005 the Commission was presented with a "Municipal Wireless
System Preliminary Feasibility Study" by MRI Consulting. The estimated
capital and operational costs listed in that study to build and operate a
municipal wireless system were approximately $2.9 million with ongoing
annual operating expenses of approximately $400,000. These are the costs
to own and operate a wireless system.
For the past nine months the Information Services Director, Joanne Dalka,
has been meeting with other LT. managers within Seminole County and
one of the topics of discussion has always been wireless. There is some
interest across the County, but for the most part, no one wants to take the
lead, no one has a vision, and no one wants to spend the money that it
might take to install and maintain a municipal wireless network.
E:\052206 _ COMM _ Regular_300 _ WiFi_ Discussion. doc
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
CITY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING - MAY 22, 2006
REGULAR AGENDA ITEM "300"
PAGE20F3
There are also many unanswered questions and considerations:
· Would the City be interested in setting up a test hotspot such as at the
Town Center?
Business Models - Does the City wish to:
· Own and operate the system?
· Own the system but outsource the operation of the system?
· Offer this service at no cost to residents and businesses?
· Offer a tiered fee structure according to income?
· Set up network as a franchise at no cost to the City where the City
could possibly benefit in services and/or monetary fees?
We have looked at several models who are working on similar projects:
· City of St. Cloud, FL
· City of Philadelphia, P A
· City of San Francisco, CA
· City of Orlando, FL
· City of Henderson, NY
It is important to understand that if we choose to do a hot spot, it must be
done with careful planning with the help of a consultant. A hot spot for
the Town Center core would encompass approximately 200 acres and
would need to be carefully planned out for future inclusion into a city-wide
solution if one is chosen. All of the cities interviewed stressed the
importance of using outside expertise to help them with their goals and
business plans which gave them direction with regard to their project.
You must know what you want in order to get what you want. There are
many considerations and variables that must be carefully thought through.
This can take some significant time and resources. The Information
Services Department does not have the time and resources to handle such a
task.
Because of the upfront capital and ongoing operating costs of owning and
operating a municipal WiFi network, I do not recommend that the City
consider this as an option. I recommend that we at least consider a model
that allows something similar to a franchise where a vendor would design,
deploy, operate, maintain, and own the system. The City could benefit in
some way via connectivity/bandwidth/services, fees, etc.
FUNDING:
Not applicable at this time
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
CITY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING - MAY 22, 2006
REGULAR AGENDA ITEM "300"
PAGE 3 OF 3
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you want to start moving forward on this as a project immediately, we
recommend that you authorize Information Services to:
Solicit proposals so that a consultant can be retained with the required expertise in
this area (city-wide WiFi) to work along with Information Services and
Commission to:
a. Assist the City with development of goals with regard to Wifi.
b. Define and develop a business plan for the Winter Springs WiFi network.
c. Develop an RFP to acquire a vendor or business partner that will design,
deploy, own, operate, and maintain a wireless network, at no cost to the
City.
d. Administer the RFPlbid process and assist with vendor selection.
e. Act as project manager to oversee implementation of the WiFi network.
ATTACHMENTS: None
COMMISSION ACTION: