Arqiva Wireless Cities Article

The Good Life: wireless cities need to be self sufficient to deliver on their promise

As City Councils and Local Authorities continue to respond to the challenges presented by Transformational Government policies and the need to embrace the ethos of a shared infrastructure services culture, Wireless Cities are fast becoming an essential part of the delivery mechanism in achieving those goals. Not only do Wireless Cities afford authorities the opportunity to deliver services more efficiently and yield significant cost savings, they also form an essential part of the fabric of the digital infrastructure, which in turn helps many cities in their transformation from industrial to 21st century digital economies.  Furthermore, Wireless Cities provide authorities with an infrastructure capable of delivering social inclusive services and broadband access to those most in need and where they need it.

However, recent news from the US indicates that many wireless city networks are not proving sustainable. Houston, San Francisco and Chicago have delayed or abandoned wireless city plans as experience has shown that offering public broadband access is not, in itself, sufficient to make wireless city networks thrive. Howard Williams, business development manager for Arqiva, looks at the importance of making wireless networks self-funding and sustainable through generating cost-savings and greater efficiency.

To date, around 20 wireless city networks have been deployed in the UK, both commercially and by local authorities themselves, to varying degrees of coverage area and contiguity. Most large local authorities are considering the deployment of wireless city networks and the total number of deployed networks according to Informa is forecast to reach 277 by 2011.

Wireless city networks promise competitive advantage for cities offering modern digital infrastructure, cost-savings on existing communications services and new revenue streams for local authorities.   However, Arqiva argues that few wireless cities are being used to their full potential, and many projects run the risk of failing after the initial funding runs out.

Making wireless networks self-funding

So far, the primary aim of wireless cities has been to explore the benefits that can be achieved by providing free public and local authority access to the internet, funded by development agencies, the government, or private bodies.  While funding is available for the initial deployment of wireless city projects, in many cases it is not ongoing, and local authorities need to exploit ways in which their network can develop and become self-supporting.
 
Very few projects have set out a definitive business case for how the ‘free’ system will work in the long-term.  For example, in Norwich the deployment of a wireless network in three sectors of the city was paid-for with £1.1m funding from the East of England Development Agency for 18 months, run by Norfolk County Council.  The project is currently being heavily used by students and public sector workers, but funding is due to run out in February 2008.

After this point the local authority will need to judge the success of the project and decide how to proceed.    If Norwich is to continue to be a wireless city a strong business case must be built in its favour.

For wireless city projects to survive beyond the funded trial stage they need to demonstrate their capabilities to create cost-savings or generate profits that can be re-invested back into the system.  A wireless city network has the potential to offer cost-savings on a myriad of existing services, and the addition of new revenue streams to a local authority’s income, but as a relatively new area of infrastructure, local authorities need help and support in exploring ways this can be achieved.

Support for local authorities

Organisations such as Nomad Wireless, offer advice to local authorities and can provide case studies on projects conducted across the UK.  By promoting solutions being implemented by local government across the UK and hosting events to discuss lessons learned, Nomad's objective is to analyse, demonstrate and evaluate the potential benefits and savings that can be made by introducing mobile and flexible working technology solutions. Local authorities need to be careful that they are not seen as subsidising something that could be provided by the free market, and organisations such as Nomad are able to offer advice here.

Other sources of support include technology providers themselves.  Arqiva is a neutral host provider, currently working in partnership with local authorities to identify core services and applications which could be migrated onto the wireless network. Arqiva develops business models to understand the likely level of cost savings and revenue that could be achieved by Local Authorities- we explore some of these ideas below.

Building a business case: Cost-savings and greater efficiency

The need for ubiquitous internet access to information for public sector and local government workers can be met more cost-effectively by means of the wireless network.  In addition to providing cheaper internet access, providing workers with access on the move means that they can be more productive, utilising ‘dead time’ spent travelling by responding to emails and giving them the flexibility to work from multiple locations. 

Wireless access for certain public sector workers also means enhanced delivery of public services.  For example, by giving health workers connectivity while on the road and at patients’ homes, wireless connectivity can provide advantages in terms of faster patient care and administration.

Existing services such as CCTV can be run more efficiently and effectively by utilising the wireless network.  For example in Westminster, a CCTV and noise monitoring scheme utilises the much lower cost backhaul bandwidth available from WiFi.  Noise can be monitored remotely; reducing the man hours needed to investigate a noise complaint and at the same time provides documentary evidence.

CCTV can also be used for traffic management and congestion control, automatically sending messages to public displays on the roadside.  For public transport, real-time passenger information can be sent automatically to locations such as bus stops and bus stations, keeping passengers informed without the need for worker input.

A major cost-saving can be achieved by moving from a traditional phone system to VOIP.  Depending on network design, Council and public sector workers can use VOIP phones that allow low cost calls to be made over their own IP network or over the internet, leading to substantially reduced call charges and enabling employees to be integrated into the phone network at all times.
  
Payment systems for public facilities such as parking can be made more efficient within a wireless network.  Work is being undertaken by a number of local authorities to develop and trial IP wireless-enabled applications to support a parking strategy, including wireless connectivity for parking meters. In its entirety, a system of this sort would allow users to buy tickets via their mobiles and PDAs, thus eliminating cash, and the connections between the meters and the control centre to be wireless, thus bringing cost savings to the Council.

Services such as waste management can also be improved – currently councils have to use mobile manpower to monitor if bins are full.  By using RFID tagging councils can remotely identify if a bin is full and send the closest vehicle to empty it straight away.

Building a business case: New revenue streams

Working to make a wireless network self-sustaining means taking advantage of all potential revenue streams.  The most obvious way is to charge consumers and businesses in certain areas a fee or subscription to use the wireless network.  In addition, other business benefits already mentioned can be made available to private companies through a payment to the local authority. 

For example, the ability to remotely update public information at bus stops can be opened up to advertisers, with the local authority sharing revenue made from the space. 

Security companies could be given access to existing CCTV cameras to monitor customers’ properties for a charge to the local authority.  For example in Manchester, Community Security provides round-the-clock monitoring for property owners and schools. In addition, corporate users could pay a subscription to use the wireless network for VOIP. 

Furthermore, wireless networks make a city more attractive to tourists and business travellers, with the network being used to advertise the use of local authority amenities.  The network can support visitors taking "wireless tours" of the city on their mobile phones and hand-held computers, and could send regular messages updating users about events taking place.

Benefits for residents and supporting social inclusion

A public wireless network provides outcomes and benefits to the broader community that, above and beyond building a business case, support a key government aim of social inclusion.

It may not be cost-effective for the private sector to provide high speed broadband to a certain area, thus relegating residents to the wrong side of the digital divide.  By providing free or cheap broadband to these residents, wireless city projects are ensuring they can receive the same level of public service and the same access to e-government as everyone else.  It also ensures that students and pupils will have the same access to the internet at home as they receive at school or college.

Wireless cities have an important role to play in urban regeneration and can stimulate growth in target areas, by providing the communications infrastructure to improve economic competitiveness, attract businesses and promote growth and retention of local jobs.

Summary

Each proposed wireless city opportunity will have different priorities in terms of council, business and public need, but all have the potential to help drive urban regeneration, facilitate social inclusion and education services, as well as attracting businesses and visitors into city centres through the offer of ubiquitous broadband access.  Wireless cities are a vital component in the local government of the future and for their survival local authorities need to run the networks to a sustainable business model.  It is vital that local authorities seize the opportunities that wireless networks can provide to generate cost savings, create operational efficiencies and provide an enhanced environment for business growth and the cities citizens and visitors.