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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOW 2005-06-13 Item 2C - Review - Connectivity Issues INFORlV1ATION MEMO To: Mayor Mullet From: Public Works Director~ June 8, 2005 Date: Subject: Connectivity Update ISSUE Provide Council with an update on the City's connectivity initiative. BACKGROUND The City had contracted with Asset Analytics (AAI) to achieve City's goal of constructing a metropolitan area fiber network that would provide gigabit Ethernet connectivity to Tukwila citizens and businesses. Through a series of contract amendments and renewals, AAI accomplished tasks critical to the deployment of a fiber network system throughout the City. These tasks include the audit and proofmg of the City's conduit system, network design, and the development of a business model. As briefed to the Council, the cost to construct a fiber network that would provide gigabit connectivity to Tukwila businesses and residents is approximately $10-$12 million. DISCUSSSION Due to budget considerations and competing priorities, the Council directed staff to develop a business model that assumes fiber deployment only to the Commercial Business District (CBD) with an option to connect from the CBD to the Sabey Data Center. Through a contract with AAI, this task was completed in January 2005. Mr. David Luman briefed the Council on the CBD fiber deployment business model during the January 2005 Council Retreat. Mr. Luman estimated that the CBD deployment along with a connection from the CBD to the Sabey Data Center would cost approximately $2.2 million. We expect the City's Signal Interconnect Project to offset some of the CBD fiber deployment cost. As part of the scope of work, construction of the signal proj ect will include repair of the broken conduits. Additionally, the conduit gaps that exist in the CBD (see attached map) will be bridged. The project is currently in preliminary design; construction will begin late this year. Mayor Mullet Page 2 _ June 9, 2005 To move forward with the connectivity project, Council must decide on the following critical issues: ~ Accept or reject information/data provided by AAI and move forward with the connectivity plan. ~ Given budget constraints, goals, and other competing priorities, decide whether the fiber deployment should be City-wide or CBD-only deployment. ~ Approval of a staffmg plan to ensure effective project management and oversight. The staffing plan must include hiring of technical personnel to handle design, construction, and operations and maintenance requirements. Note that the hiring process takes months to complete. Additionally, City must decide on the lead department to manage the entire project rrom design to completion. RECOMMENDATION Present to the Committee of the Whole for discussion. attachment: CBD Conduit System Excerpt from Minutes of City Council Retreat (January 2005) Connectivity David Lumen and Ross Schultz Ross talked about his experience in Sherwood, Oregon, which also wanted to build a high-speed internet network. They tried to get grants, but were unable to do so. They built one lme to a large Sherwood server similar to Sabey's server buildings here. Developers are putting in condUIt now. David Lumen said Verizon and Quest both said they would be interested in using our conduit, but If they were the vendors they would have a monopoly and could just serve the low hangmg fruit of the largest businesses. Dennis thought it would be good to get their offers, as that would offer no risk to Tukwila. David said if putting in gigabyte service increased city business by 9% (as Hebert Research estimated), the city coffers would benefit. Pam L said thIs could be somethIng the City could be proud of having once it was in. Dennis argued business that wants it in the CBD already has fast mternet service. Pam L said the Council always thought we'd turn the operations and maintenance of the system over to an outside vendor. The danger of the biggest operators IS that they would only sell to a few businesses, ignoring areas they thought weren't so profitable. Dave F said there is no gigabyte service in the CBD. He wants the City to run the system, and thought the big vendors would just go for profit. Dennis wanted an estimate from the bIg vendors. Pam C asked what the city's vision was for connectivlty. Whether it's an enterprise fund or a util1ty needs to be decided. Jim thought it could be a competitive advantage for Tukwila. It could be tied to economic development. Steve asked what we need to do next. There would be some cost to finishing the network of conduit in the CBD. The larger issue may be gettmg from the street to the buildings. Dennis argued for value engineering, and David L said the technical parts of his report had gotten that review. An estimate IS needed for what it would take to get to an RFP for service. The issue was referred to a COW. City Councll Retreat 2 SEATTLE POST -INTELLlGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.comlbusine~s/225514 _ broadband24.html Seattle is told it must rewire Advanced broadband network needed to stay ahead, task force says Tuesday, May 24, 2005 By JOHN COOK SEATTLE POST-INTElllGENCER REPORTER For Seattle to remain competitive, it must develop an advanced broadband Internet network that is capable of delivering voice, video and data to businesses and homes. And it must do so quickly, rolling out the high-speed system within the next 10 years. That's one of the findings of the Broadband and Telecommunications Task Force, which plans to release a report today that encourages city leaders to act now or face the prospect of falling behind other regions. "Seattle cannot afford to dawdle," Steven Clifford, chairman of the task force and the former chief executive of King Broadcasting Co., wrote in a draft report. "Broadband networks will soon become what roads, electric systems and telephone networks are today: core infrastructure of society." The report, which will be presented to the City Council's Utilities and Technology Committee this afternoon, contains a number of bold recommendations. The most controversial is the suggestion that the city support construction of a fiber-optic network, the fastest and most reliable technology but also the most expensive to deploy. The recommendation of fiber comes as a number of cities, including Spokane and Philadelphia, have approved construction of less expensive wireless networks. But wireless, including an emerging technology known as WIMax that can cover many square miles, does not provide the bandwidth or security necessary for applications such as telemedicine, remote learning or interactive government. It also has issues with network interference and spectrum licensing, Clifford said. "The long-term problems and challenges that Seattle faces are not likely to be solved by wireless," he said. "What Seattle and all cities will need is a big, big pipe capable of 25 to 1 00 megabits (per second) each way." The 13-member task force did not study the economics of fiber to homes, so they did not provide a recommendation on how the city might support this effort. But although the capital costs are high, Clifford said, the total cost per megabit makes fiber the cheapest and most compelling system they studied. "We did not recommend to go ahead and fiber Seattle tomorrow," he said. "There may be some new technologies emerging that will allow you to get fiber to the neighborhood and have some other hop to the home, other than fiber, that can still give you the fat pipe." Task force member Ron Johnson, vice president for computing and communications at the University of Washington, said the city is well positioned with an existing fiber optic network According to the report, more than 450 miles of fiber optic cable runs through Seattle. "We have fiber in places that most people don't," Johnson said. "Most of the people involved in tIlis process saw that as ~ extraordinary asset." (continued...) If Seattle does not move forward with the network, it could lose its edge to cities such as Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Seoul, South Korea, which have placed big bets on broadband, Johnson said. "There are areas of the globe that are light years ahead, and Seattle should want to be among the global leaders," he said. The idea of a municipally supported network that provides high-defInition television, voice over Internet, on-demand movies and other services could put the city in competition with telephone and cable companies. Though there are potential ways for the city to work with those incumbents, the report indicated that it would be a mistake for Seattle to wait for "private markets" to drive the construction of new networks. "Without the city playing any role and without taking the initial steps we outlined, other cities are going to fare much better because there will be more robust competition," Clifford said. Johnson believes it's unlikely that Comcast or Qwest would cooperate with the city on a new fiber-optic network, but he said a third-party provider or non-profit entity could be attracted to the opportunity. The city could operate its own network, although Johnson said he would prefer a partnership with a telecommunications provider. In letters to the task force earlier this year, representatives for Qwest and Comcast said they would be willing to work with the city. However, they expressed reservations about a municipally operated network. "Our view is that incentives for us, as an existing broadband provider with the network and resources already in place to operate in Seattle, would be far less expensive and far faster to market than attempting to create a new telecommunications system," Comcast Senior Vice President Len Rozek wrote. Qwest \\'Tote that it would prefer that the city let the market for broadband develop in an "open and unfettered environment." Seattle City Council member Jim Compton, chairman of the Utilities and Technology Committee and a sponsor of the task force, said he was surprised by the findings. "We sent them out to find out if we should do citywide Wi-Fi, and I thought that's what the business model would point to," Compton said. "Instead, they came back and said that is one of the things we should do, but more important for our broadband future is a citywide fiber-optic network. " Compton plans to introduce legislation to create an Office of Broadband to study the issues further. "I think it is important enough that everybody will agree that we should seize this opportunity," he said. P-IreporterJohn Cook can be reached at 206-448-8075 orjohncook@Seattlepi.com (Q 1998-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer CITY OF TUKWILA OFFICE OF THE city CLERK 6200 Southcenter Boulevard Tukwila, WA 98188 (206) 433-1800 - Office (206) 433-1833 - Fax Jane E. Cantu, CMC, City Clerk Bob Baker. CMC. Deputv City Clerk Date: o IlG/6C:;- p~+ WO~+:'SO(\ To: From: (:ZO~) b d---b ~ ObiS;- B 0-- ,\0 C\. ,C\. Fax: Phone: ( ) Fax: (206) 433-1833 \ \VC V\? f" r-tec- +-t 0"" Tv",,~ro \J. ~r 0-5 ' Re: d-OOb- ;2-0\\ # of Pages: \ \ j including this cover sheet. Hard Copy to Follow: YES NO ~ Notes/Message: ~~\ ~ \9 0\-\ ~~~~ \Qt)"L.J2S-t - - ~b VI{\ ~~c-\:=--e-+- ~\ b-~3-0S VV~~A THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FAX TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL USE OF THE DESIGNATED RECIPIENT NAMED ABOVE. This message is intended only for the use of the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information, which is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and return the original to the City of Tukwila, via US Mail. Thank you.