Municipal Broadband Snapshot Report - June, 2006
Effective Technology Due Diligence:
The key to successful muni wireless deployments
Abstract
During the next six months, as the first wave of cities' municipal wireless initiatives will go live, you're going to see some very happy faces. You're also likely to hear a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth. What's going to separate the heroes from the goats is proper technology due diligence.
In addition to helping you align expectations with reality, effective due diligence enables you to develop and deploy the most effective network to meet the objectives of your city or county. You'll either find just what you're looking for, or more likely the case, you'll find the best technology options to meet enough of your objectives to justify the deployment.
One challenge, however, is that this task is time consuming, not particularly glamorous and definitely not politically expedient if local politicians view muni wireless as a quick sound bite or a re-election lever. A bigger challenge, though, is that many local governments are cash strapped and the due diligence process can be short-changed by fixating on how to avoid paying to build the network. The temptation is to settle for whoever offers to deploy at no cost to the taxpayer.
In this Snapshot report, you'll get some insights into how to pursue technology due diligence in a way that leads to the best possible network given the limitations of available technology. As with my other documents on the subject, you won't find the right answers here. What you get are questions to ask, glimpses of municipalities' experiences and recommendations to help you determine the best answers relative to your specific needs.
Snapshot Participants
This month's Snapshot interviews 12 cities, counties and vendors involved with municipal wireless projects. Cities and counties represented are:
| Chaska, MN |
Henderson, NV |
| Lompoc, CA |
Loma Linda, CA |
| New Orleans, LA |
Philadelphia, PA |
| Racine County, WI |
Riverside, CA |
| Washtenaw County, MI |
|
Vendors interviewed for this report are Embarq (formerly part of Sprint-Nextel), Business Information Group and EarthLink, the sponsor of this report.
What you'll find out from those interviewed is:
- before you can do effective due diligence, you have to do serious needs analysis among your various constituent groups;
- you have to have a clear vision of ultimately what you want the network to achieve;
- don't get locked into what you think is the best technology before you even start your due diligence;
- pilot projects are a valuable part of due diligence;
- in developing your RFP, it's important to balance between being clear on technology needs while not painting potential vendors into a box;
- an effective SLA makes a big difference in the quality of the network you receive; and
- government ownership of the network, with private company deployment and operations management, is one option to mitigating risk.
Some of the practical recommendations for risk mitigation tactics from this group of respondents include:
- it's good to run two or three pilot projects, possibly using technology from different vendors in each pilot , as well as a proof of concept build out;
- visit cities or counties similar to yours that have already deployed;
- understand the strength (value) of your assets;
- negotiate from your position of strength as a powerful group of consumers whom many vendors are eagerly want to reach;
- don't be afraid to probe into the financials of potential vendors to make sure they can sustain a viable business;
- add contract terms that revert network ownership to the city if vendors abandon the project or fail to meet obligations or service levels; and
- bring the local incumbents into early due diligence efforts since they possibly can partner with vendors offering to pay for the network.
In the final analysis, cities need to
- expand thinking on funding options
- make end user needs assessment the critical first step
- realize that need determines content, apps and tools
- have these needs drive technology due diligence
- understand what is proper tech due diligence
- beware of the 101 little things that can trip you up
- know that technology due diligence is more than tech specs
The frenzied focus on trying to get municipal wireless free is detrimental to the advancement of this trend, and it is putting cities in danger of missing the many opportunities the technology offers. Trying to get the best deal possible for a city and its citizens should always be the main goal, though. You do this through better planning, thorough assessment of your technology and end user needs and a more aggressive exploration of your options.
Get the full Snapshot report.
For additional information about the report, call 510-536-4522, or
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