AGENDA #5a

MEMORANDUM

to:	Mayor and Town Council
from:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
subject:	Connectivity Improvement and Public Wireless Access
date:	October 8, 2007

PURPOSE

The purpose of this memorandum is to report on the status of connectivity improvements identified in the April 23 report from the Connectivity Working Group.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

At the April 23, 2007 Business Meeting, the Town Council received an interim report from the Connectivity Working Group. The report recommended three items for the Council to consider: (1) continue planning for fiber optic capability, (2) short term wireless projects, and (3) further study of a large-scale connectivity project.

The planning for a fiber optic capability is moving from a future project to one that is near term. The Town has entered into a contract with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to design and install an improved traffic signal system that will use fiber optic cable as the networking backbone. Included in this contract is a provision for the Town to install additional fiber optic cable during the construction phase of the project. This cable would be used for municipal networking purposes. A state contract to develop the system design has been issued and design work will begin later this year. The Town must now prepare a system design that will allow the state contractors to install the additional fiber optic components needed for the municipal system. A proposal for this process will be presented at a future Town Council meeting.

A proposal for a short term wireless project was presented at the June 27, 2007 Business meeting and accepted. The project has been implemented and is in operation. The attached report from the Director of Information Technology describes the status of the project.

Considerations for a large-scale connectivity project have not been undertaken. Although the fiber optic networking project will be large in scale, it is not aimed at addressing connectivity for the community as a whole. Considerations for large-scale wireless access or other community wide connectivity concerns will require further review. This may require the involvement of a consultant that has experience in these areas.

RECOMMENDATION

With active progress being made in two of the three areas identified by the Connectivity Study Group, I believe it is reasonable for the Council to begin consideration of the large-scale connectivity objectives. While the staff can prepare basic information, I suggest we need to work together with Council Members to determine the Town’s interests and identify the kind of assistance we need to evaluate these interests and the actions required to achieve them. I request the Council’s comments regarding how you would like to approach the large-scale connectivity objectives.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Memorandum from Director of Information Technology (p. 3).