AGENDA #4g

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Pilot Project for Wireless Access

 

DATE:             November 21, 2005

 

 

The attached resolution would authorize the Manager to conduct a pilot program to provide wireless computer services for students living in Town-owned housing units. The wireless services would enable students to connect to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools network services. The pilot program would apply to students living in the Craig-Gomains housing area. This memorandum also provides information on Town efforts to explore wireless Internet service for wider applications.

 

BACKGROUND

 

At the June 27, 2005 Town Council meeting, two petitions regarding wireless Internet service were received and referred to both the Town Manager and the Technology Committee for review and comment. Although considerations for wireless Internet access are still under review, the Town staff has identified one pilot project that could be done with minimal cost to the Town.

 

As a background to this proposed project some comments about Town staff and the Technology Committee efforts to explore options for providing wireless Internet access are appropriate.

 

Wireless Internet access, whether done on a small scale as in a home or on a large scale for a metro area, requires an Internet connection as a source and two devices that communicate over a radio frequency. One device is an access point that interfaces with the Internet and controls the process; the other device is a wireless network adapter that interfaces with the user’s computer. Compatibility of equipment is necessary for the client device and the access point to communicate.

 

The market for mobile access to information is expanding rapidly and has resulted in many competing technologies and equipment standards for wireless devices. General access to the Internet via wireless systems, whether provided by commercial or municipal efforts, is a process that will continue to evolve. On the technical side there is a transition from short to long range transmission capability as well as a transition from stationary to mobile wireless capability. On the policy side there is both public discussion and pending Congressional legislation that may affect the use of the wireless radio spectrum.

 

From the perspective of the Town staff, this means there is no single proven technology that provides a roadmap for implementing a wireless Internet access for Town residents.

 

Many Town residents and businesses have acquired Internet access from commercial companies. There are several commercial providers of wired Internet access who serve Town businesses and residents. Time-Warner (cable modem Internet access) or BellSouth (digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access) have the majority of Town customers for wired service. The University and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are served by publicly funded programs. In the coming months, commercial wireless Internet service will be added to the list of options. Clearwire, a new commercial service provider in our area, has indicated that their service will be available by mid-2006.

 

The wireless segment of the market, whether wireless to a fixed location (typically requiring 120 volt power) or to a mobile customer (using battery or vehicle power sources) is relegated to users who either have the resources (i.e. money) and equipment to use the wireless signal or to the user who has difficulty in obtaining a commercial wired service because of the remoteness of their location.

 

All wireless Internet access has costs associated with it. One basic component is the cost of the system connection to the Internet, a service that must be provided commercially. Aside from the equipment necessary to provide large area coverage for a wireless signal, there is the need for maintenance and customer support personnel.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The Town staff and the Technology Committee both together and separately have undertaken efforts to review and develop proposals for providing wireless Internet access in Chapel Hill. We are working with the Downtown Partnership to investigate ways to provide wireless service in the downtown area and we are investigating ways to address neighborhood needs.

 

Downtown Initiative: The downtown area would most likely benefit from a publicly available wireless Internet access similar to the one used in Carrboro. This could serve residents, students, and visitors alike. It could meet the casual use needs of users such as during a lunch hour or shopping visit to the downtown area. This type of service presumes the individual has sufficient resources to buy the equipment (laptop computer or personal digital assistant type device) to access the service. Whether the service could serve business operations or act as a replacement for commercial fixed service for a resident or student would depend on a number of variables. The Downtown Partnership is planning to survey business owners in the downtown area to assess interest and ideas for such a service. The Technology Committee and the Information Technology Department have both agreed to assist the Downtown Partnership in evaluating and preparing a plan for the downtown area.

 

Neighborhood Initiative: The initial review by Town staff of providing a wireless service for the Northside and Pine Knolls neighborhoods identified several logistical and technical concerns. Aside from a major issue of what technology to use is the concern for necessary resources for installing and maintaining the transmission equipment and for ensuring residents have the right equipment to receive the wireless signal.

 

School Access Initiative: Because of the emphasis on the education aspects of the original wireless petitions, we began to look at options to provide services for middle and high school students. We found that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) has an ongoing effort to provide students with access to the school network through a program known as Connect 2 School. We found there were a number of students living in our Town-owned housing units in the Northside neighborhood. We also found the Town maintenance facility at 505 Craig Street would provide a suitable site for installing a wireless access point that could serve several housing units in the Craig-Gomains area.

 

We propose a project that would provide student access to the Connect 2 School network in the following manner:

 

1.      An Internet access connection would be established for the Craig-Gomains area, initially at the Town maintenance facility on Craig Street, and a wireless access device would be setup that would only allow access for authorized student computers.

 

2.      Students living in the housing units would be provided, if needed, with personal computers with wireless access adapters. (The computers to be used for this project are Town systems that no longer meet Town requirements and have been removed from service. They would be provided as Town-owned housing unit equipment. Because the Connect 2 School program is a remote computing process that places minimal requirements on the student’s computer, these older systems should meet the student’s needs. We anticipate supporting about twenty students in the pilot program.)

 

3.      The computers and wireless connection would be configured to permit access only to the Connect 2 School site. (This ensures the intended educational use is provided the highest priority and bandwidth. It also allows the direct participation of CHCCS staff in the project.)

 

4.      Student training in use of the Connect 2 School program would be provided through existing school system programs developed for this purpose. Town staff would maintain the wireless network and provide computer system maintenance support on a limited or as available basis.

 

Other than the commercial cost of the Internet connection, the Town costs for this project are anticipated to be small – approximately $1,000 for equipment and $1,000 for the Internet connection – and will come from existing funding for the Information Technology Department. We propose to use about 20 of the Town computers that have been removed from service to support this neighborhood-focused project. This would be consistent with other Town efforts to support community needs; for example, we recently transferred ten out-of-service computers to EmPOWERment, Inc. for use within the community.

 

We believe the Internet connection costs can be kept to a minimum by restricting access for educational purposes. This will allow us to seek reduced rates from vendors and may qualify for special educational rates in the future.

 

The pilot project would be an evaluation process for the Town. It will help the Town determine whether wireless services such as these could be provided on a continuing or expanded basis and whether the users find the service to be of sufficient benefit to warrant the Town’s continued involvement in the process.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The Town staff is continuing to work with the Technology Committee to explore options for wireless access to the Internet that can be used by the public. In addition to use by individuals there are direct benefits to Town services. Many Town departments could improve their service capabilities if a common wireless service was available. A more complete review of wireless Internet access considerations is anticipated by early next year.

RECOMMENDATION

We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Manager to conduct a pilot wireless access project involving the Craig-Gomains housing area.