CITY OF YORBA LINDA ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES REPORT

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1 CITY OF YORBA LINDA ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES REPORT DATE OF COUNCIL MEETING: AUGUST 5, 2008 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM : WILLIAM R. KELLY, INTERIM CITY MANAGER BY: DAVID A. GRUCHOW, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: WI-FI HOTSPOTS AT CITY FACILITIES AND PARKS RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Yorba Linda City Council provide direction to staff as to which City parks and/or facilities should be considered as potential Wi-Fi hotspots for the purpose of providing the public with no-cost wireless Internet access. Further, staff recommends that the City Council authorize the transfer of General Fund reserve funds in an amount sufficient to cover the estimated costs to conduct a formal radio signal propagation and coverage study of those sites the City Council would like to consider as potential Wi-Fi hotspots. BACKGROUND Per the City Council's request, staff has prepared this report analyzing the potential for installing and operating Wi-Fi hotspots at City facilities and parks for the purpose of providing wireless Internet access to members of the public visiting these facilities. This report describes the basic technical and physical requirements necessary to establish a hotspot, outlines the general operating specifications of a Wi-Fi hotspot, categorizes City facilities/parks based on their current ability to meet those requirements, and provides a rough estimate of the costs (both initial setup and ongoing) to provide a hotspot at a typical facility within each category. DISCUSSION The Internet has an extraordinary ability to inform, educate, entertain, and communicate. Given the role it plays in the day-to-day lives of many people, having easy, efficient access to the Internet has become an increasingly important concern for a certain segment of the population. A Wi-Fi hotspot is a location that provides access to the Internet through a wireless connection. Hotspots are most often found in retail locations, cafes and restaurants,

2 Page 2 airports, and other locations where people tend to congregate. While the majority of hotspots are provided by retail businesses as an amenity for their customers, a number of municipalities provide Wi-Fi access within their public buildings (i.e., city hall, library, and community center). Additionally, there are some cities that have developed programs to provide Wi-Fi access over larger areas of their community. Most of these are structured as private-public partnerships and tend to focus on downtown retail districts or other specified areas (typically around colleges and universities), though there have been several attempts to provide Wi-Fi access on a citywide basis. Staff has reviewed several municipal Wi-Fi networks, including those in Fullerton, Anaheim, Riverside, Seattle, Austin and Minneapolis, among others. The level of success for these programs has been mixed. The biggest challenges have been financial. Most of these programs were designed such that the bulk of the costs to construct and operate the system would be covered through a combination of subscription fees and advertising revenues. However, the number of subscribers and advertisers has not met expectations resulting in the potential for having to increase subscription fees and advertising rate, reduce services, or subsidize with public funds. This report has been prepared in response to direction from the City Council to analyze the potential for installing and operating Wi-Fi hotspots in a limited number of locations, specifically City facilities and parks. Besides those municipal Wi-Fi programs that eventually plan to provide wireless access citywide, staff is not aware of any citysponsored Wi-Fi efforts that target city parks as a service area. Basic requirements to establish a Wi-Fi hotspot Creating a Wi-Fi hotspot requires the installation of a wireless access point (typically consisting of a wireless router with one or more antennas). In turn, the access point is connected to the Internet via a "backhaul" connection, which can be provided in one of several ways. In preparing this report, staff looked at using phone lines to provide a backhaul connection to the City' s data center for access to the Internet. This approach was selected because it is the most cost-efficient, easiest to maintain, and sufficient to meet the Council 's goal of providing hotspot access in specified locations as opposed to citywide. The minimum physical requirements for a City-operated Wi-Fi hotspot are access to electrical power and a DSL-capable telephone line, as well as a secure location in which to install the access point hardware. That location can be either an interior space, such as an equipment closet, or in the case of exterior installations, a tamper-proof ruggedized equipment cabinet. Providing service to an exterior hotspot also requires a raised location on which to install the antenna(s), such as a building roof or light pole, in order to provide sufficient signal coverage.

3 Page 3 Accessing a hotspot connection In order for a member of the public to use a hotspot, their computer must have a Wi-Fi card. Most newer laptops have a Wi-Fi card built in to them while older laptops typically have a slot where the user can insert a Wi-Fi card purchased from an electronic equipment retailer. Wi-Fi connections can be configured in such a way as to limit access to only those users who have registered to use the service. Limiting access to registered users provides several benefits, such as ensuring users are made aware of and agree to any terms of use and liability disclaimers the City develops for the service. It also provides the City with the ability to control access to objectionable websites and automatically direct users to the City's home page or other specified website when they log on to the service. For those reasons, staff recommends the City require users of its Wi-Fi system to register online and be authenticated each time they access the system. Operating parameters Speed Several levels of data transfer rate, or speed, can be provided over Wi-Fi connections depending on the type of access point equipment used. The bandwidth of the backhaul connection also has an impact on transfer rates. Staff is recommending the use of access point equipment conforming to the b standard and a DSL backhaul connection. This will provide data transfer speeds that approximate those available over a standard hardwire DSL connection. Signal Range Wi-Fi hotspots typically provide coverage of 100 to 150 feet in interior installations (where the signal must penetrate interior walls) and up to 300 feet in exterior locations (where there is a clear "line of sight" between a user's computer and the hotspot antenna). These distances are approximations and can vary based on a variety of factors specific to each location as well as individual laptop computers. The range can be extended by using signal amplifiers and multiple antennas for a particular access point. Staff is recommending that site-specific engineering studies be performed for each outdoor location at which the City Council decides to establish a hotspot. This will allow staff to design and equip each hotspot so that it provides an acceptable level service to the entire location, something that could be a concern in larger parks. It should be noted that because Wi-Fi coverage areas generally radiate out from the antenna in a circular pattern, it is likely that homeowners living next to or near a park with Wi-Fi service would very likely also be able to access the service.

4 Page 4 Security Data and other information transmitted over a public Wi-Fi hotspot may be vulnerable to unauthorized interception by equipment and software designed for that purpose. Additionally, devices using wireless connections may be more vulnerable to unauthorized attempts to access data and software stored on the device. Therefore, operators of a Wi-Fi service can not guarantee the security of any data or other information transmitted through the use of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Users of Wi-Fi hotspots are strongly encouraged to provide security measures on their equipment and take other precautions to protect their information. Staff is recommending that all users of a City Wi-Fi service be made aware of and required to acknowledge these potential security issues before being allowed to log on to the service. Content filters Staff recommends that the City's Wi-Fi service include content filters that would control access to "adult" (i.e., pornographic or otherwise obscene ) websites, similar to the filtering that is currently in place on the Library's wireless access system. Hours of service Wi-Fi access point equipment can include timers so they are operational only during specified times. Since council's direction was to provide Wi-Fi service for users of City facilities and parks, staff is recommending that all City Wi-Fi hotspots be operational only during the operating hours of the facility or park at which they are located. Facility categories Staff has developed five categories for identifying City facilities current ability to meet the basic requirements for establishing a Wi-Fi hotspot. Tier 1 facilities are those at which hotspot service could be provided most easily and economically; Tier 5 facilities are those that would require the greatest expenditure of time and effort to establish a hot spot. The categories are as follows: Tier 1 - A City-owned building that has existing Wi-Fi service. These would include City Hall, the Library, and Black Gold Golf Club. Minimal modifications would be necessary to increase signal strength and install the user registration and authentication software components. Tier 2 - A City-owned building that has existing electrical and telephone connections and a secure space in which to install access point equipment. Examples include Community Center, Lasorda Field House, and Travis Activity Center.

5 Page 5 Tier 3 - A park adjacent to a City building where the building has existing electrical and telephone connections, a secure space to install equipment, and an elevated location on which to place an antenna. Examples include Veterans Park, Hurless Barton Park, Bryant Ranch Park, Eastside Park, San Antonio Park, and Vista del Verde Park. Tier 4 - A park with sports field lighting, walkway lighting, or a building with existing electrical power but without a secure interior location for equipment and no existing phone line. Examples include Arroyo Park, Fairmont Knolls Park, Jean Woodard Park, Paxton Equestrian Center, and Bigonger Park. Tier 5 - A park that does not meet any of the physical requirements for establishing a hotspot. Examples include Kingsbriar Park, Las Brisas Park, Rio del Oro Park, and Vista Lampara Park. Cost estimates Initial Engineering The cost to conduct radio signal engineering site studies would be approximately $5,000 per site. Staff recommends that such a study be done at every outdoor location at which the City Council decides to create a Wi-Fi hotspot. Ongoing The direct ongoing costs to provide Wi-Fi service at any particular site would be approximately $50 per month per site. These costs would consist primarily of electricity fees ($3 per month) and phone company fees of $40 to $50 per month. Ongoing maintenance costs for the system and each of the hotspots could be absorbed by the existing IT budget. Equipment repair costs would be minimal as the equipment is highly reliable and the nature of the technology is such that relatively little staff time is necessary to manage the system. Installation Not surprisingly, the largest portion of the costs to provide Wi-Fi service is related to equipment purchase and installation. And these costs can vary significantly depending on the size of the area being covered. Following are estimated equipment and installation costs for a typical, mid-sized facility within each of the five tiers identified earlier.

6 Page 6 Tier 1 - Modifications to existing equipment and software ($ 1,000). Tier 2 - Access point hardware cost ($5, 000), phone line activation cost ($75). Tier 3 - Access point hardware purchase and installation ($10,000), activation cost ($75). phone line Tier 4 - Access point hardware purchase and installation ($15,000), phone line installation ($75 activation and $2, 000 to run a new line), and purchase and installation of exterior cabinet ($3,000 for cabinet and pad construction). Tier 5 - Access point hardware purchase and installation ($17,000), phone line installation ($75 activation and $2,000 to run a new line), electrical power installation ($3,000 for meter and to run a new line), and purchase and installation of exterior cabinet ($3,000 for cabinet and pad construction). Next steps Should the City Council direct staff to establish Wi-Fi hotspots at one or more City parks or facilities, the next step would be to have an engineering firm conduct a formal radio signal propagation and coverage study of the selected sites to determine the type and location of Wi-Fi access point equipment necessary to provide adequate Wi-Fi service at each selected location. Once those studies are complete, staff would return to the City Council for funding authorization based on the specific costs to establish a Wi-Fi hotspot at each location before proceeding with installation. FISCAL IMPACT There is currently no money budgeted for providing additional Wi-Fi service in City facilities and parks. Staff estimates the per location cost to provide Wi-Fi service to be as follows: Tier 1 - $1,000 one-time plus $3,500 per year (the annual operating costs are part of current operations budget) Tier 2 - $5,075 one-time plus $3,500 per year Tier 3 - $10,075 one-time plus $3,500 per year Tier 4 - $20,075 one-time plus $3,500 per year Tier 5 - $25,075 one-time plus $3,500 per year Staff recommends the City Council approve the transfer of General Fund reserve funds to the appropriate operating expense accounts sufficient to cover the estimated costs to conduct a formal radio signal propagation and coverage study of those sites the City Council will like to consider as a potential Wi-Fi hotspot.

7 Page 7 Specific costs to establish Wi-Fi service at specific sites will be provided to the City Council after those studies are complete. ALTERNATIVES It is recommended that the Yorba Linda City Council provide direction to staff as to which City parks and/or facilities should be considered as potential Wi-Fi hotspots for the purpose of providing the public with no-cost wireless Internet access. Further, staff recommends that the City Council authorize the transfer of General Fund reserve funds in an amount sufficient to cover the estimated costs to conduct a formal radio signal propagation and coverage study of those sites the City Council would like to consider as potential Wi-Fi hotspots. Alternatively, the City Council may direct staff to: 1) Return to the City Council with additional information; or 2) Receive and file this report Prepared by: Michael Maxfield, Public Information Officer Reviewed by: W Interim City Manager Finance Director Review and Approval