|
Eagan is believed to be the
first city in Minnesota to develop a map specifically pinpointing how
much high speed Internet access exists within its
boundaries, and exactly where those fiber optic
lines, digital subscriber lines, and wireless
access points are.
That is just one of the
outcomes of a study that began last May by a
15-member Eagan Technology Task Force asked by the
City Council to make recommendations for the
future.
The Task Force, which
included representatives from small and large
businesses, advisory commissions, and the chief
technology officers of Northwest Airlines, Thomson
West, and Blue Cross Blue Shield, inventoried
Internet providers serving
Eagan, sought community
feedback, and studied wireless options, cellular
phone service and potential roles for the City in
spurring greater competition and
service.
Among the key findings
in its 87-page final
report:
- While large
businesses and certain segments of
Eagan
enjoy a fiber-rich environment that would be the
envy of other cities, some businesses have no
affordable high-speed Internet options and only
about 50% of residents and businesses have
access to digital subscriber lines (DSL) through
Qwest and other providers.
- The City should work
with existing providers to extend their
services, and explore Wireless solutions to fill
gaps in coverage.
- It should call for
proposals to create a citywide wireless network
preferably operated by the private sector or as
a public/private partnership.
- Residentially, the
Task Force concluded that Cable modem service is
available to virtually every home in
Eagan.
- However, residents
have significant concerns about price and a lack
of competing Internet service
providers.
The Task Force
recommended several goals including striving for a
minimum of one high speed Internet provider for
each address (business or residential) while
working toward a higher goal of multiple providers
for each address, offering a choice of price, and
service.
Also at its
January 11th work session, the City
Council reacted favorably to four key
recommendations:
o
Because the technology
changes so fast, forming an ongoing advisory body
to ensure Eagan remains
technologically competitive.
o
Issuing a Request for
Information (RFI) to technology providers to fill
existing gaps in
Eagan and possibly provide
citywide wireless coverage.
o
Continuing to press
Qwest to fully deploy DSL within
Eagan.
o
Directing the
Telecommunications, Economic Development and
Planning Advisory Commission to review existing
city ordinances to determine what changes, if any,
might be necessary to further encourage technology
deployment.
"We are
just absolutely delighted that some of the
brightest technology minds at our largest
corporations worked with city staff and small
businesses to craft these recommendations,” said
Eagan Mayor Pat
Geagan.
Task Force member Rick
King, Chief Technology Officer for Thomson Legal
and Regulatory, returned the favor. “I have
lived in 13 states and worked with many different
local and state governments. I think
Eagan is one of the finest
run cities I have ever seen in the quality of its
staff, goals, direction and
vision.”
Task Force Chair and
Eagan resident
Tom
Barott praised the role of
city and the Northern Dakota County Chambers of
Commerce in bringing large corporations in
Eagan together, in some
cases for the first time. “We
discovered,” said Barott, “that while our large
corporations are extremely well served by abundant
high speed Internet access, some of our smaller
firms are not and our big companies have really
stepped up to the plate to press the private
sector to provide affordable Internet access to
all of Eagan.”
From the standpoint of
homeland security and redundancy the companies
discovered common interest in not having all fiber
paths route to Minneapolis.
For small businesses
and residents, Wireless solutions hold great
promise, despite issues of security and
topography.
However, based on a cost analysis and the
difficulty of staying current with technology, the
task force unanimously recommended that the City
not own
a citywide wireless network, but rather actively
work with the private sector to deploy an advanced
stage wireless solution, perhaps utilizing city
water towers.
“Eagan's pursuit of
next-stage wireless technologies will position the
community in an increasingly mobile and connected
world,” said task force consultant
Bill
Coleman of Community
Technology Advisors. “This
approach will put
Eagan's telecommunications
services at the forefront and ensure that they
stay there as new technologies
emerge.”
But Community
Development director Jon
Hohenstein is most excited by the
City’s new technology mapping capability and by
the economic development opportunities it
presents.
“Eagan is uniquely
positioned,” said Hohenstein, “to show Internet
providers exactly where expanded service is needed
and to demonstrate the competitive advantage in
information technology that
Eagan offers to businesses
who want to locate here.”
Back |
