First Annual W2i Digital Communities Best Practices Awards

Nominee Project Title

Project Lead: Perry Jarvis Date: September 2, 2005Organization: City of Burbank Country: USAEmail: pjarvis@ci.burbank.ca.us Web site: www.ci.burbank.ca.us

Background• Population – The City of Burbank has approximately 105,000 residents.

• Geographic - Burbank is located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, CA. The city is approximately 17 square miles.

• Economic – The City of Burbank has a total annual budget of $495,000,000 and houses many entertainment industry giants, such as Warner Brothers Studios, Walt Disney Studios, NBC Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and ABC Networks just to name a few.

• Regulatory – The City of Burbank’s wireless projects utilized public access frequencies, such as 2.4 GHz and 5.3 – 5.8 GHz. The City has obtained a license for 4.9 GHz for future projects.

• Community – The City of Burbank boasts 22 parks, 13 ball fields, two municipal pools and a municipal golf course. The City has three public Library locations to serve the public.

• IT readiness – The Information Technology Department continuously strives for excellence in providing cost effective, reliable, secure information systems and technological solutions that support the business strategies of the City of Las Cruces and the information needs of the citizens they serve.

Project History

• Project History: In fall of 2002 the City of Burbank began investigating alternative methods of connecting remote City buildings to the main City network.. Fiber optic cable was used in the past where available, but due to cost not all buildings, such as the animal shelter and several fire stations, could be connected via fiber. Approximately 20 locations were currently connected to City Hall via T1 circuits, which are relatively slow by today’s standard and have a monthly reoccurring cost. Several solutions were considered and analyzed. After much analysis it was determined that a wireless bridge network would satisfy the current needs of the remote sites and allow plenty of room for substantial growth, all while costing less than one years lease rates of the 20 T1 circuits. Initial Proxim MP20 5.8 GHz test equipment was purchased and the City’s IT staff installed the units in the spring of 2004. As additional units were deployed and new obstacles overcome the City’s IT staff became very proficient with the Proxim equipment and learned how to overcome many common problems, such as interference and line of sight issues. As each location was converted from T1 to wireless more funds were freed up to continue the project. All locations were converted and the T1 replacement project was completed. The City then began investigating other ways to leverage wireless technologies.

• The City then proposed and installed several 802.11b/g access points at all three public Libraries to offer free WiFi access to all Library patrons.

• The City’s IT staff then proposed a Downtown WiFi network. Research was performed and site testing performed. Suitable locations were chosen and the initial test equipment purchased. After the successful installation and use of the test equipment the project moved forward.

• With funding from the Community Development Department, the IT staff purchased the remaining equipment needed and began deployment. City IT staff purchased 12 802.11b/g dual antenna outdoor grade access points and installed them on light poles at all of the major intersections in the Downtown area. Attached to each access point was a Proxim MP11a subscriber unit (also WiMax compatible) to act as a backhaul uplink to connect the access point back to City Hall. By July 2005 the entire Downtown area was complete and patrons could access free high-speed 802.11b/g wireless Internet access anywhere in the vicinity.

Mission & Objectives

• Mission statement: The Information Technology Department continuously strives for excellence in providing cost effective, reliable, secure information systems and technological solutions that support the business strategies of the City of Burbank and the information needs of the citizens they serve.

• Project Objectives: briefly state the project objectives in terms of the project addressing one or more of the following:

– municipal workforce productivity – 1) with the installation of the wireless bridge units, remote City locations increased productivity by receiving a dramatic speed increase over the old T1 circuits at a substantial cost savings. 2) additionally, new sites, such as small Park & Rec buildings that did not previously have any network connectivity, could now be easily and inexpensively be added to the main network, which increased productivity by allowing Park staff access to network resources previously not available.

– providing improved Services to Citizens 1) the Downtown WiFi network is offered free of charge to all Downtown visitors and patrons. 2) The library offers free wireless Internet to all patrons

– shrinking the digital divide – The WiFi services offered in both the Library and the Downtown area are offered free of charge to all residents.

– local Community Economic Development –the Downtown WiFi network is available to all patrons of the Downtown area, furthering the services offered in the Downtown area

Possible Solutions• Available alternatives:

– business models – technology

• Leave the remote sites on T1, VPN through the Internet, offer dial-up services to the main network or install fiber optics cable

– applications

• Chosen alternative– The wireless bridge network was ultimately chosen due

to its substantial bandwidth offering over the current solution, has no re-occurring costs, and the ROI was less than one year of the current solution, which put $35,000 back in to the general fund for every year after the first year.

Business Model• Community outreach undertaken and role of various stakeholders in the process

– The Downtown WiFi network was designed to offer free WiFi services to residents and visitors to the Downtown area. This service is offered free of charge and benefits both the residents and the businesses in the Downtown area, which ultimately benefits the City.

• Targeted users: – Current

• The wireless bridge network is an internal network for official City business. The Library and Downtown WiFi networks are free public Internet access networks.

– Future• The Downtown WiFi network is scheduled to be deployed in major City parks in Fall

2005. Additionally, a study is being performed to determine the feasibility of offering WiFi services on all City buses via an uplink to a wireless mesh network that will be built along the bus routes.

• Partnerships: Describe the various partnership models used, including Public-Private partnerships

– The City self funded the wireless bridge network.– The City and the Downtown Property Owners (P-BID) jointly paid for the Downtown WiFi

network.

Project Economics• Cost structure:

– Include information on startup cost, operational costs, upgrading, etcInitial Startup Costs• Proxim MP20 Network……..$35,000• Downtown WiFi Network…..$55,000Operation Costs• Since all setup and maintenance was performed by City staff, there are no additional operational costs associated with the

project. Maintenance is performed by staff during the course of the workday. Upgrade Costs• The City has not yet experienced any upgrade costs associated with the wireless projects. The MP20 wireless bridge project

gave remote sites a 20 Mb connection to replace a 1.5 Mb T1 and should suffice for a minimal of three years. The Downtown WiFi network is an 802.11b/g network that has is connected to the City’s 100 Mb high speed Internet connection. The design of both systems was planned to accommodate major growth and not need upgrading or re-engineering. As a precaution, the City has budgeted to replace all wireless equipment every third year.

• Investment Sources/ Funding Sources– How is the project funded

• The initial project cost of the MP20 bridge network was $35,000. This cost was recovered in the first year by the cancellation of 20 T1 point-to-point circuits. By using the additional T1 savings and factoring the current Internet costs of the current ISP, a contract was signed with a new ISP to deliver a 100 Mb dedication fiber connection from the Internet directly to City Hall.

– Investment level• Since the wireless bridge network was a direct replacement of a more costly system, the investment was very low and ROI

was almost immediate. Ongoing support and maintenance is performed by IT at no additional cost.

• Revenue Source/ Return on Investment– ROI for the wireless bridge network was complete recovery of the cost within 1 year by canceling 20 T1

circuits, which equates to a savings of $35,000 per year for each year after the first year.

Applications• Current applications

– All normal daily communications benefit from the wireless bridge network. Remote users can now access E-mail, the mainframe and other centralized services offered at City Hall at a much higher speed. Productivity is increased as well as the flexibility to offer remote connectivity to any site regardless of their location within the City or proximity to fiber optics cable. The City also now has the ability to create high-speed data connections to mobile areas, such as mobile command centers, should a disaster occur. Wireless systems will still be operational even if key land structures or paths are destroyed.

• Future/ Potential applications– The City of Burbank has applied for and received its license from the FCC for the

use of 4.9 GHz. The City is planning to build a high speed 4.9 GHz mesh network to allow for high speed communications to the City’s Police and Fire Department vehicles, allowing Internet access, the ability to see color graphics, and access to the traffic system video feeds from any safety vehicle anywhere within the City.

Network Schematic• If possible provide your network schematic

– please see attachments.• State the chosen/considered & why

– Technology providers• Brands considered were Proxim, Firetide, Meru, Engenuis• Proxim was chosen for its flexibility, security, product offering and cost

– systems integrators • The City worked with M-Gravity and Associates from Irvine, CA. M-

Gravity played a crucial role in research and product testing, design and troubleshooting, and general guidance

– and service providers• All configuration and installation was performed in house by City staff.

Deployment• Timeline: past, current & future

• First implementation of the wireless bridge network went in to production in March 2004. The project was completed by January 2005. The Downtown WiFi project research began in November 2004 and actual installation began in April 2005. The project went live in May 2005 and was completed in July 2005.

• Deployment specifics- activities and processes – The City of Burbank, lead by IT staff and with the assistance of

Public Works, Forestry and Burbank Water and Power staff, performed all configuration and installation of the wireless bridge network and the Downtown WiFi network.

• Sustainability and Scalability of the project– The project was built to accommodate approximately 500%

growth before any major re-design or upgrades will be required.

Impact Analysis• Actual impact – The impact of the MP20 wireless bridge

network was an immediate speed increase to all remote sites. Many City buildings were connected via slow 1.5 Mb T1 circuits and benefited from being upgraded to a 20 Mb network, all while showing a significant cost savings for the City. The Downtown WiFi network was a huge success, spurring media coverage and earning the City many positive comments from the community. Both projects have helped further Burbank’s image of an advanced technological City, save money, and offer new services to residents of the City.

• Impact compared to original goals– The benefits offered by the wireless network were as planned, with

the additional benefits of offering the flexibility to add new sites easily, quickly and very economically.

Lessons Learned & Next Steps

• The City of Burbank has had tremendous success with the wireless technologies. The City has been able to save money, increase network speed to remote sites, and offer more services to a broader range of customers, including the public.

• The City of Burbank will continue to find new ways to leverage wireless technologies, such as 4.9 GHz for our safety services, to further serve the residents of the City.