LTC 254-2008 Status of Wireless Miami Beach WiFi Projectm MIAMIBEACH
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OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER 2Q0$ ~~~ " ~ Q~ ~. 42
NO. LTC # 254-2008 LETTER TO L~I~I~~SS,I~N .
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TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
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DATE: October 7, 2008 ' ~"
SUBJECT: Status of Wireless Miami Beach WiFi project
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to communicate the current status of the
Wireless Miami Beach WiFi project.
Last October, IBM turned the citywide WiFi network over to the City to begin final
acceptance testing. Based on the testing that Jim Geier of Wireless-Nets (the City's
independent engineer) conducted, the system did not meet the contract specifications.
The existing system as tested had widespread coverage holes in both outdoor and
indoor locations, with outdoor coverage at approximately 80 percent, and indoor
coverage of approximately 30 percent. This fell far short of the contractual signal
coverage requirements of 95 percent for outdoor coverage, and 70 percent for indoor
coverage.
Following their review of the Wireless-Nets test report, IBM requested that the City
provide additional mounting assets (poles) and retrofit existing power circuits to provide
photocell connection for areas without sufficient coverage as identified by the test report.
Additionally, IBM requested that the City deploy step-down transformers (for all 120
nodes connected to 480 volt circuits) to reduce power from 480 to 120 volts to reduce
node failure from electrical conditions. Additionally, we began a dialogue with IBM to
finalize the protocol for final acceptance testing.
The City has completed the installation of all IBM requested additional mounting assets
and the retrofit of required circuits. Further, in an effort to move the project forward, the
City has installed step-down transformers on all City owned poles where nodes are
installed and powered by 480 volt circuits.
Prior to the completion of our discussions on the protocol for final acceptance testing,
IBM changed the project team leadership and began an extended contract review. They
identified certain contractual issues that they believe require clarification before they will
proceed with the deployment of the network.
Trish Walker and I have met with the IBM project leadership representatives and their
lawyers in an effort to work through these outstanding issues in a manner consistent with
our understanding of the contract terms. Some issues remain outstanding however; IBM
has agreed to begin the final phase of node deployment within the next two weeks. This
phase should be completed by late November.
On October 16, Trish Walker and the City's technical team including our independent
engineer, Jim Geier, will meet to finalize the final acceptance test plan with IBM. The
testing should begin in early December when IBM completes the deployment and hands
off the network to the City. Testing is estimated to take a minimum of 4 weeks with a
final report expected early February. If IBM has achieved the required contractual
specifications and network performance, the City will enter a reliability period of 90 days
during which the system will be available for use. The system must successfully perform
during the reliability period before the City will accept the system.
If you have any questions of need additional information, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
JMG/PDW/AS
C:\DATA\W iFi\commission update 10-7-08.doc