The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutFIN 2023-03-13 Item 1A - Discussion - Private LTE Proof of Concept for Student Internet Access with WA State Broadband OfficeCity of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Finance & Governance Committee FROM: Joel Bush, Chief Technology Officer BY: Eric Compton, TIS Franchise Analyst CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: March 7, 2023 SUBJECT: Private LTE / CBRS Proof of Concept Funding ISSUE Approval to conduct a Private LTE Proof of Concept (POC) with the Washington State Broadband Office. The State Broadband Office will provide up to $1 Million in funding for the POC. BACKGROUND The City of Tukwila has unsuccessfully applied for grants in the recent past to develop a Private LTE (Long Term Evolution) solution to bridge the digital divide experienced by Tukwila Students. The State Broadband Office reached out to the City of Tukwila to provide up to $1,000,000 to conduct a POC based on the strength of past grant applications. Ensuring that every Tukwila student has equitable access to quality internet is the 1St Pillar of Tukwila Smart City Initiative. If successful, this POC can be scaled to meet this end. Additionally, the network can lay the foundational infrastructure for programs to support many other projects including public safety initiatives, measuring air quality, parking availability in the business district, and utility applications. DISCUSSION This Private LTE POC will provide quality internet to approximately 1,200 Tukwila students that reside in Tukwila Hill, Allentown and Tukwila International Boulevard neighborhoods. Private LTE is the same technology used by cell carriers on cell phones for over a decade marketed as 4G. The solution will provide cellular connectivity to local students using take home Chromebooks provided by the school district. Tukwila will contract with a partner to manage the provisioning of resources needed to connect the Private LTE network to the Chromebooks. TIS has consulted with vendors on the feasibility of this project and are confident that the selected vendor will deliver in time and within the agreed upon scope. The Washington State Broadband Office will provide contracting services for the Private LTE Proof of Concept. The final contract will come before the council when it has been developed. The State Broadband office has implemented a time requirement for the project that the $1,000,000 will need to be expended by June 30th, 2023. FINANCIAL IMPACT There will be limited financial impact in conducting the Private LTE network, but some staff time will be required to determine connectivity of cellular sites to the City or network. In our current discussions, the State Broadband Office will provide enough funds for all infrastructure and three (3) years of spectrum license fees and managed services. Spectrum license and 1 2 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 managed service fees of $94,000 per year will need to be part of the 2025/2026 budget discussions if Tukwila wishes to continue beyond the initial POC. RECOMMENDATION The Council is being asked to approve partnering with the Broadband Office on the Proof of Concept at the March 20, 2023 Regular Meeting. ATTACHMENTS Student Internet Need Analysis Map Citizen Broadband Radio Service Spectrum Analysis Draft of Proposed Cellular Site Locations. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Technology Services/Private LTE Informational Memorandum (Info Memo).docx Tukwila School District - Student Internet Need Analysis City of Tukwila - GIS w -122.225 47.482 Degrees unty, WA State Par KS GIS Legend .^. X Hotspot Deployment (Heat map) Tukwila Empty Conduit Tukwila Empty Conduit and Fiber Tukwila iNet City Limits Tukwila Hill • 56 payor lunch students • 210 free and reduced lunch students • 266 TOTAL TIB • 79 payor lunch students • 687 free and reduced lunch students • 766 TOTAL Allentown • 35 payor lunch students • 59 free and reduced lunch students • 94 TOTAL TOTAL SUM OF ALL STUDENTS IN 3 AREAS 1126 TOTAL STUDENTS Potential State Broadband Office Private LTE CBRS Proof of Concept CBRS Spectrum Analysis Customer Location Use Case Type Bandwidth Required Date City of Tukwila, WA Tukwila, WA Indoor/Outdoor service for City (TBD) TBD 1 B1Jan(2023 Location shows moderate CBRS spectrum utilization within approx. 9 miles. Non -Federal incumbents are not present. Within DPA Zone - radios should be configured to allow frequency change in case of federal activity. PAL channels are present (30 MHz; 3620-3650 MHz). Overall good conditions for CBRS deployments. GO. DPA Zone PAL Channel Utilization Within -9 miles - Category R *Category ® 02022Fedealed Wireless. PJI lMs reserved. Draft Cell Site Locations t]L RSRP coverage for a 20MHz LTE Channel at 3500 MHz LTE: Commie b, RSRP Leve! MU RSRP Levet fDLI Idfn9 > =$S RSRP Leve! I➢LI IdBee > _ _g0 PEEP Level fDUI RPe s-95 RSRP Levet IOU NMI > =•105 RSRP Left! IDLI( Rn0>-•10S RSRP Levet IOU Id&n1 > =•110 111 PEEP Level CLI Id9mI > •-115 FIGURE 3: RADIO FREQUENCY COVERAGE 1:1212.1 Feeler lad PJI,. RYI ngM reserved Neighborhood Site Facility Address Height(ft) Monopole Allen Town AllenTown Tukwila Community Center 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168 60 Tukwila Hill Tukwila Hill Municipal Water Reservior 15000-14944 57th Ave 5, Tukwila, WA 98168 50 YES Tukwila Hill Foster PSE Utility Pole 13537 Interurban Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168, USA 50 T1B Cascade View Cascade View Elementary school 13601 32nd Avenue S., Tukwila WA 98168 38 TIB T1B Impact Puget Sound Charter School 3438 5 148th 5t., Tukwila, WA 98168 64 TIB Site 2 PSE Utility Pole 38 Rainbow Cir, Tukwila, WA 98188, USA 25 TIB Site 3 PSE Utility Pole 15810 39th PI 5, Tukwila, WA 98188, USA 25 01