It’s been a not-so-quiet week in the good fight for control of our information future. A hearty thank you to East Harriet Neighborhood Association and Seward Neighborhood Group, which have added their voice to the call for the Minneapolis to consider public ownership of the citywide wireless network. Once again, the votes were unanimous. We had an article in the Monday Star-Tribune business section. If you missed it, read it at http://www.newrules.org/info/010906strib.html We are getting ready for next week’s Minnesota Global Forum, hosted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Please join us to discuss the benefits of public ownership, and why a robust information infrastructure is vital to our city’s future. The conversation will take place at Acadia Cafe (corner of Franklin and Nicollet), from 5 to 7 pm on Wednesday, January 18. I’ve been told you should come a little early to get refreshments. They sell beer and wine as well as all the usual cafe fare. Finally, the City Council has gotten your letters, but they do not yet seem to have gotten the message. City Councilors have said it is true that they did not seriously consider public ownership, but it is too late to do so now. We disagree with that assessment. So I was thrilled today to read a column that authoritatively sums up what a legitimate process does, and does not look like. It is a commentary on San Francisco, but the parallels to Minneapolis are clear. I’ve included some of the ten questions below. The full version is available at http:// roisforyou.blogspot.com/ January 11, 2006 10 questions San Franciscans need to ask about that RFP by Craig Settles, author of “Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless: Applying lessons from Philadelphia’s WiFi story” There seems to be quite the dust up in San Francisco over the RFP for a WiFi network, and from all sides of the political spectrum. The conservative view is the standard free-market arguments about government in the private sector’s business. The heart of the left and moderates argument is that the RFP doesn’t seem complete nor responsive to the needs of the people. You can read an article and a blog that lay out some specific issues of contention. Having looked at S.F.’s RFP, re-read Philadelphia’s RFP and knowing the many steps Philadelphia took leading up to their RFP, I believe there are a few vital things missing in the city by the Bay. If groups supporting muni WiFi in San Francisco or any city ask the following questions in the context of the process that Philly followed, many cities would get a better start to their initiatives. Don't imitate every step Philly took. Ask the questions they asked and answer them in a way that best fits your city. 1. Is there a steering committee for this initiative that is reflective of the city? The mayor of Philadelphia selected an executive steering committee of 15 people representative of various community and business constituencies, and two from the city government. The committee brought in a consultant firm proficient in muni WiFi deployments for guidance. In S.F., the Techconnect review panel has seven members: three from the city, two from the Public Utility Commission, one community rep and the consultant firm Philadelphia retained. 2. Does the steering committee have a deeply thought out, clearly articulated vision of where they think this initiative should go? Philadelphia’s committee worked together as a group in one session to complete an eight-page workbook in a vision-development exercise. They defined what a wireless network should and shouldn’t be, what services it should deliver to the communities, and worked through 30 values to determine “What values drive the development of this community technology program?” 3. Was there, or is there a plan for, an aggressive needs-analysis process that reflects the diverse city? The committee conducted 20 extensive focus groups with about 15 people each, and each group represented a key constituency, including ethnic groups, neighborhoods, health care, education and business. Even the incumbents were invited to a focus group, which they declined. Participants were recruited and selected based on their recognized standing (formal or informal) as a leader within their respective constituency. All economic strata of the city were represented. 4. Is there a business plan? The executive committee, in 90 days and before the RFP was issued, created a 72-page business plan for the wireless initiative. As with any multi-million dollar business venture, the plan included ROI projections, business model analysis, an analysis of best practices, infrastructure definition, stakeholder analysis and plan for marketing the network to the various constituencies. 5. Has there been a technology feasibility study? For nearly a year before the RFP was issued in Philly, there was a series of “proof of concept” deployments of WiFi networks, spectrum analysis, RF testing and five pilot projects in different parts of the city that each brought together a different set of vendors’ products. S.F. cancelled their plans for a feasibility study. 10. Does someone have the political will to put the brakes on something that might not be a great idea? Whatever you want to say about the Philadelphia initiative, the people driving the process showed a willingness to slow down, revise, re-write or whatever was necessary to get the job done right. If you look at some of the dissent about the S.F. project, it’s about too few people making key decisions who aren’t plugged in enough with citizens. Even though the RFP calls for this network to be build for free, everything comes with a price, often paid by those citizens. Citizens are saying they want to see enough to know enough so they can determine if this RFP is a good idea. And they want it changed if it isn’t good. Bottom line. Many cities are racing to be one of the first with muni WiFi deployments. They see what Philly is doing and they want to be part of that. When you look at these first couple of cities that are deploying, you see the political fights, the early network build outs and the first couple of failures. What you don’t see is all of the preliminary work that went into (or should have gone into) these launches. It’s a staggering job to do this muni WiFi thing right. Yet with the stakes being what they are, don’t you owe it to your city to ask these important 10 questions, with an understanding of how these pioneering cities addressed the issues? Provided by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, www.newrules.org Contact: Becca Vargo Daggett, 612.379.3815 x209, becca at ilsr.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://shadowknight.real-time.com/pipermail/tcwug-list/attachments/20060113/0f5a6643/attachment.htm