Agenda Item 3a: Community Wi-Fi Briefing — original pdf

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Community Wi-Fi Briefing Austin Independent School District/ CapMetro/ City of Austin Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission June 12, 2020 1 Today’s Briefing The Joint Sustainability Committee adopted a Resolution in Spring 2020 to: ○ Identify possible public-private partnerships and funding to expand access to the Internet for low-income communities and communities of color, which have disproportionately low-levels of access. The city should identify possible public-private partnerships and funding to either create free city-wide Wi-Fi, or free connection for income-qualified residents. 2 Today’s Briefing ● Updates to provide Wi-Fi Internet Access to the Austin Community ○ Austin Independent School District ■ Kevin Schwartz: Chief Technology Officer ○ Capital Metro ■ Melissa Ortiz: Community Engagement Coordinator ■ Jane Schroter: Vice President & CIO ● Opportunities, and City of Austin Role ○ City of Austin ■ John Speirs: Program Manager ● Next Steps 3 Austin ISD ● CURRENT CONTEXT ○ Equipment ■ ■ ■ ■ >45,000 of 81,000 computers (Chromebooks and iPads) deployed PK-12. Full 1:1 Fall 2020 6,000 of 8,000 Internet hotspots through grants and matching grants 12,000 to 17,000 estimated students will still have an unmet need for Internet 130 WiFi-enabled school buses deployed during Summer Mon-Thurs until mid-afternoon Summer School underway and Fall are planned to rely on partial to full online learning ○ ○ Health, employment, education, news, transportation, access to food, etc. are all heavily impacted by this digital divide ● PLANS & OPPORTUNITIES ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Data indicate again that the need is in “The Crescent” and requires a hybrid solution Private LTE Point to multi-point Wireless San Antonio accelerating plans after modeling on GAATN Carrier LTE service (Grant and purchased) Timing is paramount 4 Cap Metro ● 9 locations across service area 4 Housing Authority communities 3 Foundation Communities sites 1 East Austin College Prep 1 Del Valle ISD site Districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 ● May 8th - Summer 2020 ● WiFi Reach ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 150-200 feet 25-30 users, bandwidth is shared by all users Strategically parked to reach as many units 5 Opportunities, and City of Austin Role ● The Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission could develop a Recommendation to City Council to further explore the short-term and long-term opportunities presented today. ● *A reminder, GAATN has an active Board of Directors who are responsible for setting policies and making financial decisions for the network. ○ The Board has a Technical Subcommittee to plan, review, and make technical recommendations to the Board. ○ The City of Austin serves as the network management provider for GAATN through a service level agreement. ○ Austin ISD serves as the fiscal agent for GAATN. ○ https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=292944#:~:text=GA ATN%20was%20conceived%20in%20the,over%20the%20next%2010%2 0years. 6