A RESOLUTION creating the Task Force on Telecommunications Innovation
to explore and report on the feasibility of using municipal resources
in a network that is available to the public using broadband
technologies, broadband over power lines, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other
wireless applications, end-user fiber build out, and other
telecommunications technologies.
WHEREAS, the City of Seattle and the entire Puget Sound region are
world-renowned as leading technology centers and incubators for
technological innovation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is committed to maintaining and expanding
the City's position as a world leader in technology, to expanding the
variety and lowering the cost of services provided to its citizens, to
providing all communities in the City with greater access to
technology, and to providing and using, when appropriate, the most
advanced technologies available; and
WHEREAS, equal access for all citizens to media, Internet, and other
digital technologies is critical to bridging the "digital divide,"
reconnecting citizens to government and community, invigorating public
discourse and private enterprise, and promoting greater civic
engagement, participation, and transparency in government; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that technological innovations and
expanded access to services can be major catalysts for economic
development within the City, and have the potential to bolster the
City's economy, spur the growth of private businesses and generate
revenue for the City; and
WHEREAS, the City and surrounding area are home to world-class
technology experts in both the public and private sector, whose vision
and vast experiences are substantial resources upon which the City
Council would like to draw, and whose collaborative efforts would
likely have a major impact on technological advancements in the City;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council has been considering offering various types
of new technology and services to citizens through a number of
different business models, and is interested in moving forward in that
endeavor in order to further the goals set forth in these recitals;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The Seattle City Council establishes the Task Force on
Telecommunications Innovation ("Task Force") to assist the City
Council in examining and evaluating the feasibility of and options for
providing broadband technology and advanced telecommunications and
information services in the City in order to further the goals set
forth in this Resolution. The composition, purpose, and scope of work
of the Task Force are described below.
A. Composition. The Task Force shall be composed of the City's Chief
Technology Officer ("CTO") or his designee(s), at least one member of
the Citizens' Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board
("CTTAB"), and the following types of members who shall be appointed
by the Utilities and Technology Committee ("Committee") in its
discretion:
1. Members of the business, technology, and telecommunication
communities;
2. Persons with a background in community technology;
3. Persons with expertise in technology and telecommunications law
and regulation;
4. Citizens with an interest in technology, telecommunications, and
the delivery of services to residents and businesses in Seattle; and
5. Such other members as the Committee determines.
B. Purpose. The purpose of the Task Force is to explore the
feasibility of using municipal resources in a network that is
available to the public and allows public data access and
transmission, and to make recommendations to the Committee about which
technologies the City should pursue, if any.
C. Scope of Work. The Task Force shall:
1. Explore and evaluate broadband technologies, broadband over
power lines, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other wireless applications, end-user
fiber build out, and other telecommunications technologies that
provide public Internet and data access and transmission, and explore
and evaluate the types of advanced telecommunications and information
services such technologies would enable the City to use and/or offer
to its citizens;
2. Explore various business models by which the City could use
and/or offer these technologies and services, such as public/private
partnerships, contract or lease arrangements, and other models, and
examine what role(s) the City might play in such models;
3. Consider these and any related questions that might assist the
Task Force in fulfilling its purpose:
a. Is it possible to create a network using municipal resources
that is available to the public and that offers public data access and
transmission and advanced telecommunications and information services?
What City resources might be utilized?
b. What technologies/applications would best achieve the goal of
creating such a network ("preferred alternatives")?
c. What is the fiscal viability of the preferred alternative(s)?
d. What are the direct benefits of providing this service through
the preferred alternative(s)? What might be some of the indirect
benefits or consequences?
e. Could such a network be revenue generating?
f. What are alternative sources to fund the network? If City
funds were needed, what funding source(s) would be used? Would new
funding source(s) be created?
g. Does the Task Force think proposed City capital expenditures
would be a wise investment? (Would the network be too expensive? Or a
bargain?)
h. What are the risks of creating such a network? Would it be a
low risk project? A high risk project?
i. What role would the City play in such a network: owner,
lessor, partner with private business, etc.?
j. To what extent could the network further the goals discussed
above, including expanding the choice and lowering the costs of
services provided to citizens, promoting economic development,
enhancing access to and public participation in government, generating
revenue, promoting technological innovation, and bolstering the City's
position as a world leader in technology?
k. Should the City pursue a small pilot program first?
4. Invite a wide array of experts and persons knowledgeable in the
issues to be studied by the Task Force to inform its discussions and
evaluation, including but not limited to Department of Information
Technology ("DoIT") staff, representatives of Tacoma's Click! Network,
and various technology vendors and service providers;
5. Prepare a preliminary report, to be authored with the assistance
of the CTO or his designee(s), reflecting the preliminary conclusions
of the Task Force on the questions identified in subsection 3 above,
in a format of the Task Force's choosing that contains the following
elements and any other elements that the Task Force believes warrant
further consideration:
a. An analysis of the financial and technological feasibility of
the services and technologies examined, and a list of other services
and technologies that were not considered;
b. Possible business models, including capital costs, funding
sources (including grants if available), and possible opportunities
for revenue generation;
c. Estimated time frames and implementation schedules for
deploying the services and technologies examined;
d. Any federal and/or state regulatory or legal parameters
affecting the services and technologies the City might offer, or the
business models the City could use, including specific constraints,
unresolved regulatory or legal issues, and other pertinent regulatory
legal issues;
e. Physical and/or electronic security concerns, and proposals
for addressing those concerns;
f. A list of options and specific recommendations for
technologies, services, and/or business models that would best serve
the goals set forth in the recitals of this Resolution (including
possible pilot programs), and that the Task Force recommends that the
City pursue;
g. Requirements for minimum capabilities that the network should
possess at launch, 5 years after launch, and 10 years after launch;
and
h. The data, research materials, and resources used to compile
the report.
6. Submit the final version of the preliminary report to the
Committee no later than October 15, 2004.
Section 2. In serving on the Task Force, the CTO or his designee(s)
shall:
A. Assist in drafting the report of the Task Force as described in
Section 1 of this Resolution;
B. Recommend prospective Task Force members to the Committee in
consultation with the Executive; and
C. Make available to Task Force members any maps, charts, diagrams,
or similar materials showing the City's existing fiber and network
infrastructure; any studies, investigations, evaluations, reports,
findings, surveys, consultant reports, business or vendor materials or
proposals, and/or other information that DoIT has concerning broadband
technologies, broadband over power lines, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other
wireless applications, end-user fiber build out, other
telecommunications technologies that provide public Internet access,
and/or any similar technologies, related services, and/or Internet
network development.
Adopted by the City Council the _____ day of _____________, 2004, and
signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this
_____ day of ________________, 2004.
________________________________________
President __________ of the City Council
THE MAYOR CONCURRING:
________________________________________
Mayor
Filed by me this ______ day of _________________, 2004.
________________________________________
City Clerk
06/21/04
(Ver. 11)
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