The Nomad Wireless Briefing - September/October 2006
A briefing to discuss: Unwiring the Local Authority; Building a Partnership to Deliver Wireless Public Services; Planning for a Hybrid Technical Architecture; Future of the Forum - Nomad Needs You
A briefing to discuss: Wireless Technologies Supporting Business Value; Towards Transformative Government; Rural and Urban Wireless Solutions; Future of the Forum - Nomad Needs You
A briefing to discuss: Wireless Infrastructure – Choosing the Right Business Model; Wireless Technology Choices; Preparing for Mobility – Mobile Application Characteristics; Future of the Forum – Nomad Wireless Needs You!
A briefing to discuss: The Current Wireless Landscape; Wireless Technology - an Enabler of Shared Services; Wi-Fi and WiMAX for Beginners; Drivers for Wireless - Transferable, Scalable, Affordable, Replicable; The Digital Challenge.
Over many years local authorities have built up significant technology infrastructure to support service delivery, asset and employee management. In the face of increasing demands on council services, local authorities need to find ways of extracting the value of their existing technology assets as well as seeking benefit from further investment in technology.
Since the evolution of mobile phone technology in 1983, wireless technology has become ubiquitous, powering our telecommunications infrastructures and delivering back-office assets out in the field. It is now reaching a level of maturity that makes it a viable option for local authorities looking to deliver services more effectively.
A local authority’s technology assets are built up year on year and include hardware, databases, proprietary software and customised solutions. The advent of wireless technology is acting as a catalyst for local authorities to re-examine their technology assets and assess their effectiveness as outlined here.
Local authorities perform hundreds of individual business processes daily. The government transformation agenda is in part an acknowledgement that not all of these processes are as efficient as they might be.
Figure 1. Untangling Service Delivery
Hardware and Infrastructure In many cases the council’s network infrastructure is leased from one or more telecommunications providers. It is not uncommon to find phone services and data services provided by different vendors. Increasingly telecommunications providers can provide data, voice and video services over the same network, which may prove not only cost effective in terms of charges but also efficient in terms of time spent supporting multiple systems.
Wireless technology leverages the existing wired infrastructure to provide increased network coverage and flexibility in the deployment of council assets and resources. Working together, the wired and wireless infrastructure supports re-vitalised legacy applications and re-engineered processes that can help local authorities deliver a higher standard cost effective service.
Software and Processes Processes built up over a period of years may no longer accurately address the needs of citizens and business. Local authorities can begin to target improvements in the delivery process by:
Taking an inventory of existing processes
Determining their effectiveness in meeting the council’s mandate
Determining the effectiveness of the supporting technology (and legacy applications)
Re-engineering processes so that they are combined, streamlined and simplified.
At the end of this process, it becomes possible to identify gaps in the delivery process that can potentially be addressed by technology.
Councils can face hefty costs from vendors when attempting to upgrade or integrate with other systems either due to the proprietary nature of the software or because the technology is particularly old. Newer web service technologies are making it possible for councils to consolidate applications and databases, while mobilising technologies can make data and applications available out in the streets.
Throughout the UK, local authorities are taking stock of their technology assets and identifying wireless technologies as an important tool in helping achieve transformation. Rather than seeing wireless technologies as a threat, local authorities are using it as a catalyst to revitalise their existing infrastructure and processes towards more relevant and effective service delivery.
Building a Partnership to Deliver Wireless Public Services
The wireless technology market is consistently growing. New standards, more effective mobile computing devices, new wireless applications and new ways of putting it all together are being developed all the time. Increasing numbers of local authorities are asking suppliers for solutions reflecting new service and usage models and based on an expanding range of technologies and standards.
In order for a local authority to realise its wireless vision, it is necessary to identify the ecosystem of partners, internal and external stakeholders that together have the capability to deliver that vision. Local authorities are wise to consider carefully investments in an environment with so much uncertainty. Investments where the local authorities requirement is aligned with industry best practice and where all partners share the vision of the local authority stand the best chance of success.
The following diagram illustrates the areas of competency that partners must fulfil when building public services on wireless technologies.
Figure 2. Wireless Public Services - Competence Areas
It is important to identify early on who the key partners are going to be and what their motivation is. Some of the partners will be internal stakeholders, such as government departments who have particular skills in delivering public services, while others will be telecommunication providers and software vendors who can provide the infrastructure and software to deliver those services wirelessly.
External Partners Suppliers to the wireless market can no longer hope to be ‘expert in everything’. Given a limited amount of resource, suppliers have chosen to become expert in a few areas of the value chain and to build relationships with other suppliers so that a complete solution can be offered to customers.
External partners are desired that:
Are the very best in their field
Have a good track record of innovation and experience in leading local authority projects
Have proven capability in delivering projects of this scale and type
Have an extensive peer network and can share learning from similar initiatives.
Internal Partners Internal partners define the economic and social drivers for the wireless vision, define inter-departmental synergies and provide the motivation to deliver the vision. In order for the initiative to be successful, staff and indeed contractors should be given a say in how the vision will be achieved so that they are encouraged to be stakeholders in the success of the initiative.
Both public and private partners will have different motivations for supporting the initiative. The success of the initiative depends in part as to how well the challenges to success can be overcome.
There are many examples of local authorities successfully addressing these challenges by developing partnerships, where each partner understands their roles and responsibilities. By supporting their wireless initiatives through strong governance and leadership, Local Authorities can help ensure their long-term success.
Citizens, businesses and the public sector have been hearing for some time of network applications, such as video-conferencing, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and high speed Internet access, that can give richer personal and professional communications and provide cost and time efficiencies to the user. While large corporations and organisations can leverage economies of scale and enable T1 and ISDN lines for remote connectivity, this has not been the case in general. The real-time, high-quality multimedia connectivity that these applications require must be enabled by high-speed, low-cost broadband access in order for them to become feasible for shared services. No one technology can provide such an infrastructure and local government should look at a hybrid of technical infrastructure to enable these services.
To establishment of a hybrid technical infrastructure plan should follow a phased approach towards the realisation of a fully seamless wireless digital community.
The first phase entails developing a strategic IT plan for the digital community framework which includes both the communication and computing infrastructures.
During the transition to the second phase, the existing communication infrastructure should be enhanced with wireless capability expansion. This provides vastly improved opportunities for connectivity and increased interaction with deployed services. In parallel, the challenge is to develop government services, implement security and deploy mobilised applications and services.
Figure 3. The Digital Community Continuum
Finally, the transition to a fully digital community includes the deployment of the communication and computing infrastructures, providing seamless broadband access and on-demand services for the community. This is where all elements of a community become integrated. Local government will maximise the return on their technology investments when they take full advantage of the digital community fabric.
The UK has an established existing wired infrastructure. This was designed primarily for voice telephony but can and is being upgraded for broadband access using DSL and other broadband enabling technologies. Local government can potentially provide broadband access over this infrastructure where financially and technically feasible. However, there are technical limitations. Traditional DSL can only reach three miles from the central office switch while older cable networks may not be equipped to provide a return channel and upgrade can be expensive. Also, deploying wired broadband infrastructure may not be possible or can be prohibitively expensive to outlying areas with low subscriber density.
The existing wired infrastructure should be overlaid with an integrated wireless infrastructure to deliver broadband to the areas the wired infrastructure cannot reach. This will enable local government to service citizens with a new delivery channel reducing service delivery costs. Public sector employees, businesses and citizens can enjoy broadband in their homes, offices, schools and public areas whether this is for personal, business or public service usage. Instead of being tied to offices, homes or individual hotpots, LA employees will have fast convenient access to information – and each other – from virtually every corner of their community.
There are a number of demographical, topological and environmental factors that contribute to the load on a wireless network and consequently should be taken into account at the planning stage:
There are several wireless technologies currently available and each has its own “sweet spot” for delivery in terms of services and location. Local government should become knowledgeable on the advantages and challenges associated with these in order to implement a solution that is effective, efficient, sustainable, scalable and upgradeable over time in order to future-proof their investment.
The following matrix outlines some of the more relevant of these technologies against location indicating the types of service that each would be suited to deliver:
The Nomad Wireless Forum aim is to develop the local government agenda for wireless in order to help local authorities make the right decisions when developing and implementing outdoor wireless broadband networks.
The Forum brings together stakeholders from around the UK, including representatives from local authorities, technology partners and academia, to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet to support social and economic development and better-managed cities, communities and regions. The Forum is an environment to foster dialogue among key decision makers from all groups.
But we need your help... In order for us to continue development of the Forum, we need your support and input, to identify your organisations’ needs and drivers, best practice and case studies focusing on the challenges local authorities face when deploying such networks. These challenges may range from; achieving buy-in of the concept internally; proving the business case stacks up; or understanding the technology choices available.
The Nomad Wireless agenda is focused on drawing out the tangible benefits that participants expect to derive from the take up of outdoor wireless broadband networks.
There has been successful participation in the Nomad Wireless Forum meetings so far, especially from leading technology equipment vendors, service providers, and systems integrators.
As part of an effort to further the dialogue and progress made in sharing win-win solutions we need to identify the champion local authorities that wish to drive this agenda forward and shape the wireless strategy for local authorities with Nomad Wireless.
Would your local authority be willing to play a pro-active role in the wireless forum over the next year and maintain close contact with the critical suppliers shaping this market within local government?
For more infomation: Contact Bharat Jain, Project Manager, London Connects E: bharat.jain@londonconnects.gov.uk T: 0208 921 5131 / 07951 206 055
The Nomad Wireless Briefing - September/October 2006
A briefing to discuss: Unwiring the Local Authority; Building a Partnership to Deliver Wireless Public Services; Planning for a Hybrid Technical Architecture; Future of the Forum - Nomad Needs You
A briefing to discuss: Wireless Technologies Supporting Business Value; Towards Transformative Government; Rural and Urban Wireless Solutions; Future of the Forum - Nomad Needs You
A briefing to discuss: Wireless Infrastructure – Choosing the Right Business Model; Wireless Technology Choices; Preparing for Mobility – Mobile Application Characteristics; Future of the Forum – Nomad Wireless Needs You!
A briefing to discuss: The Current Wireless Landscape; Wireless Technology - an Enabler of Shared Services; Wi-Fi and WiMAX for Beginners; Drivers for Wireless - Transferable, Scalable, Affordable, Replicable; The Digital Challenge.
