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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 15, 2007CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N.E., Columbia Heights, MN 55421-3878 (763) 706-3600 TDD (763) 706-3692 Visit Our Website nt.• www.ci.columbin-heights.um,tes MEETING OP THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 7:00 PM, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007 CITY I-TALL CONFERENCE ROOM Please contact Shelley at 706-3678 if you are unable to attend. AG)/NDA: 1. Call to Order 2. IZoll Call 3. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of Noveetber 16, 2006 and Januaty 18, 2007 4. Old Business a. Channel Check b. Correspondence Log and Company Follow Up on Complaints- c. Status of Franchise Renewal d. Report of IS Dept. re: Sheaming Video e. Other Old Business 5. New Bttsittess a. '4°i Quarter Franchise Fees b. Notice that SOAPnet is Bentg Added to Lice Up c. Update on WUCW Negotiations d. City Wide Wheless Network htformation e. Articles on Wheless Setvice £ Other New Business 6. Reports a. Report of Conunissioners Assigned to Access Chancels: Educational Access-Dan Swee; Library Access-Bab Buboltz; Government Access--Ken Henke; Public Access-- Reuben Ruen b. Report of Comcast- January 2007 Reports --Call Center Statistics --Outage Report --Programs Produced c. Attorney's Report d. Other Reports 7. Adjournment e tta,.l„ „r~ The City of Columbia I-Icigbts does not discriminate on tho basis of disability in [he admission m• access to, m• treatment nr employment in, its smvices, programs, m• actislties. Upmi regnesf, accomnmdafion will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to pm•ticipate in all City of Columbia Heights' smvices, programs, and activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons m'e available upon request when ale regnesf is made at Icnst 96 hours in advmice. Please call the Deputy City Cleric at 706-3611, to make m•rangements. (TDD 706-3692 fm• deaf or hearing impaired only) THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BA51G OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FROM THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dennis Stroik, Chairperson. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Members Excused Council Representative City Representative: Legal Counsel: Dennis Stroik, Brad Peterson, and Ken Henke. Bob Buboltz Bruce Nawrocki Linda Magee Steve Guzzetta APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes could not be approved since there wasn't a quorum. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check Members noted that FSN #27 was not broadcasting any programs and that channels 29, 3Q, and 61 were still unused. Members felt that some type of programming should be shown on these blank channels. B. Correspondence Log and Follow Up on Complaints Staff had not received any new complaints. C. Status of Franchise Renewal A draft agreement was submitted to the City in October. Even though the current fianchise expired November 9, 2006, things will continue `as is' since informal discussions to renew the fianchise are taking place. Walt, Linda, and Bruce Nawrocki met with Legal Counsel Guzzetta to go over the proposed agreement submitted by Comcast, Guzzetta explained that they discussed the fom• options to be considered. To accept the proposal. 2. To reject the proposal. 3. To negotiate without much prep work being done. 4. To negotiate with a lot of prep work. Guzzetta reported that the decision was made not to accept the proposal as is, and that a letter will be sent to Comcast indicating this, He told members that the franchise can be renewed for a period of 5-15 years. Comcast proposed only a five year agreement as laws may change that could benefit them. Members will be updated on the progress of negotiations at a later date. C. Other Old Business No other old business. TELECOMMUNICATION COMMISSION MINUTES JANUARY 18, 2007 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS A. Announcement of Programming Enhancements A letter was received detailing enhancements of channels and programming. One of the changes was renaming the Digital Sports Tier to the Sports Entertainment Package and adding chamiels to its line up. Other changes were listed in the announcement. Members commented that it appears that more channels are being added to the higher cost tiers and taken out of the basic service tier to make it less desirable. B. Notice of 2007 Rate Adjustments A letter was received December 20, 2006 notifying the City of price changes for services provided by Comcast. An updated channel line-up and rates for the programming, services and equipment were included. These changes are taking effect February 2007. A question was raised regarding the actual amount of franchise fees the city collects since figures on the notifications were different than the 5% figure they assumed was the amount. Guzzetta explained how franchise fees are calculated on gross revenues, and what portion of this is the City's. Nawrocki asked if the FCC is looking at the issue of bundling services vs. going to a mote ala carte service. He also asked if the phone companies are lobbying for this type of service. Guzzetta said that the FCC has looked at this issue, but that Cable companies are fighting any orders regarding this matter. He said phone companies main issue is to eliminate local govermnent control over use of Right of Ways. They do not want to incur any expenses for use of the RO W and do riot want to have to pay franchise fees as the cable companies now do. Guzzetta stated that Texas has gone to statewide franchising and since that has happened they are not moving ahead building systems very quickly as the phone companies do not have enough money and staff to do the buildouts and upgrades that are requited. That is why they are fighting for use of ROW's and to do away with the requirements the cable companies have had to operate under in the past. Guzzetta reminded members that phone companies have just recently gotten into this business. They originally planned to make their money off the long distance market that went down the tubes with the growth in cell phone usage. Therefore, they didn't upgrade their systems to provide cable and high speed Internet services Iike the Cable companies did. He doesn't thitrk the phone companies ate in a position to build out systems here, so they probably won't create much competition to Comcast. Plus, they won't be competing for price, just service or quality of service. They won't be charging less than what is being charged now by Comcast or other cable companies. Nawrocki asked if services were unbundled, and subscribers could order ala carte, what would control the pricing on each chatmel. Guzzetta said nothing would control it unless the FCC stepped in and passed orders regulating the fees. C. Notice of Public Hearing to be held in February re: Cable Rates Linda explained that a Public Hearing must be held to allow the public to voice concerns regarding the rates charged for basic cable services, equipment and installation. The City can only regulate the fees charged for these basic services. Under federal law, the rates for all programming not included in the basic service tiers are unregulated. She reviewed the rates charged in January 2006, June 2006, and the new rates effective February 1, 2007. It was noted that Comcast is not charging the maximum rate allowed according to the forms submitted. A copy of the Council Letter establishing the Public Hearing for Monday, February 12, 2007 was included in the agenda packets. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING JANAURY 18, 2007 PAGE 3 D. Review of Resolution (Rate Order for Basic Programming Rates and Equipment & Installation Rates) A copy of the Resolutions approving orders for maximum rates on Forms 1240 (Basic Programming Rates) and 1205 (Equipment and Installation Rates) that will be considered by the City Council on February 12°i were included in the packets with the following summarized stipulations: 1. The Resolutions state that the City neither approves or• denies the rates, but may function as a rate ceiling during the relevant rate period. 2. That Comcast may not charge any higher rates than those set in the 2006 FCC Forms. 3. Comcast may charge less than the lawful maximum permitted rates. 4. The City reserves its right to take action if the figures are found to be inaccurate, 5. The City reserves all of its rights, including but not limited to: a. To request and review data concerning the 2007 FCC forms in order to determine the impact, if any, the documents have on rates proposed in future rates b. The right to address issues raised in the 2006 forms that are relevant to any city review of subsequent rate filings. c. The right to request additional information concerning the 2006 forms that is relevant to any city review of subsequent rate filings. 6. The Order constitutes a written decision for purposes of 47 C.F.R. 7. The Order shall be effective inunediately upon approval by the City. 8. The order shall be released to the public and to Comcast, and a public notice shall be published stating this Order has been issued and is avai]able to review pursuant to 47 C.F.R. Since there wasn't a quorum of members to make a formal recommendation, she asked what the consensus of members present was for an informal recormendation. It was the consensus of all members present to recommend the City Council hold the Public Hearing and that the Resolutions be adopted as presented. A. Report of IS Dept Re: Streaming Video Per the request of the Cable Commission, the City's IS Technician gathered information and prices to provide streaming video of council meetings on the Internet. He obtained proposals fi•om three companies (Granicus, Implex, and A1phaVideo). Since our• whole cable system is in need of upgrading, he believes it is best to have a consultant make a recomrendation on what should be done with cameras, recording devices, audio-video equipment and computers/software to provide the best service to our citizens at the most reasonable price, prior to streaming council meetings on the web so that the entire system works together. He reported that the major expense for streaming video is off-site hosting of the video files. Staff has budgeted some monies to upgrade our system. The materials provided in the packets were for informational purposes and were in response to Reuben's inquiry on this matter. It was suggested that staff speak with Minneapolis and St. Paul to get information on the feedback they have received from the public regarding this service. The members wished to thank the IS Dept staff for the fine work in gathering the information and preparing the report. Since this is such a huge expense, we will need to re-visit this at a later time once decisions are made on how to upgrade the system so the right equipment can be purchased that will provide the services we wish to have. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2007 PAGE4 B. Possible Suspension of Carriage of WUCW-HD Comcast's agreement with 5inclait•'s TV station WUCW-HD expires shortly. Although Comcast is in negotiations with Sinclair, it may be necessary to suspend carriage of the station if an agreement cannot be reached. This could happen as early as February 5°i if Sinclair elects to pull the station fiom the Comcast lineup. WUCW on the basic service tier is channel 8, which is not affected by this agreement. C. Other New Business Nawrocki shared a Ietter he had received from Brian Olson, a former resident, who had problems downloading information off the City's web site, His complaint was that it took too long to do it. Linda passed the letter on to the I5 Dept. and they responded to his complaint. Mr. Olson offered some suggestions that would improve the city's services. Most of the things he suggested are already being discussed and budgeted for as the City knows the system needs upgrading. Linda informed the members that the Volunteer Recognition Dinner is to be held March 29°i at Murzyn Hall. Invitations were given to those in attendance. The others will be mailed out. She then told members that the City Council will be appointing Robert Peltier to fill the vacancy of Dave Mahoney. Mr. Peltier used to work for the cable company as a Field Service Supervisor. REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners Education- Nothing to report Library- Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report Government-Nothing to report B. Report of Comcast- The reports were included in the agenda packets for the commissioners to review. C. Report of Cable Attorney L Guzzetta reported that on December 20, 2006 the FCC adopted an Order on Franchising Rules that apply to new companies that allows for forced access in the Right of Ways. Any PEG fees or fees for 1NET will be taken out of franchise fees. There will no longer be buildout requirements and new companies can pick areas they want to serve. Existing Cable Companies may fght this by demanding they be allowed to operate under the same rules. Cw•rent companies could be granted the same rules at the time franchises are renewed. He explained that they haven't actually released the order yet, but it should be shortly. Once they do, he felt certain that lawsuits will be filed as the FCC overstepped their bounds in issuing this order. 2. Guzzetta stated that cities need to be cognizant of Qwest proposing legislation at the State level. Qwest feels the FCC Order doesn't go fax enough and is proposing legislation in several states now. So cities may need to contact their legislators if they try to do this in Minnesota. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2007 PAGE 5 D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager Adam Dauis currently cablecasts our City Council and Plamiing & Zoning meetings. Since Jean Kuehn retired, we no longer have a back up for this position. Linda asked if anyone from the commission or someone they knew would be interested in serving in this position, and if so, to contact her. She said that the position is paid $10.69/hr. The meetir2g was adjourned at 8:20 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary l L..QI 1 IC"../S 1. COMCAST FINANCIAL AGENCY CORPORATION REMITTANCE ADVICE 'ti..-. A Comcast Cable Communications Group Company Midwest Division Office 29777 Telegraph Rd. Ste. 4400(3 (v 0. 229614944 Southfield, MI 48034 Date : 29-JAN-07 Vendor Name :COLUMBIA HEIGHTS CIT Vendor No.: 154604 INVOICE NO. INVOICE DATE DESCRIPTION DISCOUNT AMOUNT NET AMOUNT 608-1303 11-JAN-07 4-SMlMINNTK 4th Quarter 2006 Fr 0,00 39,010.95 TOTAL ~comcast i. ~ - . COMCgST FINANCUIL AGENCY CORPORATION A Comcesl Ca61e Communlcallons Grcup Company Mltlwasl GlvlsipP Cmoa - - ~ `'' ~R Bank Qne, NA .._. sanTrelsgrapnRasta.4aove 'ColumbustRH.. - Soulhgeltl:M148034 _ ~ - -_ my Thirty-Nine Thousand Ten Dollars And 95 Cents******•***""*'*******" To COLUMBIA HEIGHTS CITY OF MN- ,'._ ~' ~'- ~ ~- ~rne 590 40TH AVE NE pfdcr COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MN 55421-3878; ~~' United States -_ .'-Authorized Signature 0.00 I 39,010.95 d N0, 229614944 66.15447441 675528343 Date 29-JAN-07 Vaitl Aftor 180 O4Y5 *`***39,010.95 f C011'1GgSt® January 29, 2007 Ms. Linda Magee Assistant to the City Manager Columbta Heights Commission 590 40th Avenue Northeast Columbia f-ieights, MN 55421 Dear Lirtda: Comcast Cable 9705 Data Park Minnetonka, MN 55343 Comcast is pleased to announce that SCAC'net will be added to the channei lineup nn chiannel 120, effective March 1, 2007. Please be aovare the FCC Fee will be increased from $.06 to $.07, effective March 1, 2007. The fee is collected to offset costs to regulate khe cable industry. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (952.) 607- 4204. Since~r"el~y,~~-,~~~ ~~~F-<--`-/ 6/~~~ Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Director of Government Affairs COtI'1CgSt® January 26, 2007 Ms. Linda Magee Assistant to the City Manager Columbia Heights Commission 590 40th Avenue Northeast Columbia Heights, MN 55421 Dear Linda: Comcast Cable 9705 Data Park Minnetonka, MN 55343 ,,. ~~~~ ~ t~ l ~~°~ ~J j ~4rJ'~ 4 --°~'~ I wanted to take this opportunity to advise you of the current status of carriage of Sinclair's TV station WUCW on Comcast's cable system in your community. Comcast's program carriage agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group, the owner of TV station WUCW and more than 30 other stations around the country, expires shortly. We are currently negotiating with Sinclair to reach a fair agreeiYtent for all concerned parties, especially our customers. By law Comcast is not allowed to continue to carry the station without Sinclair's permission. If, despite our best efforts we are unable to reach a reasonable agreement and Sinclair terminates our authorization to carry station WUCW on our line-up, Comcast could be required by Sinclair to suspend carriage of the signal as early as Nlarch 1st. I assure you that Comcast will not remove the signal unless ordered to do so by Sinclair. Notification is being provided to our customers through the Pioneer Press and Star l~ribune. Customers will also receive bill messages. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (952) 607- ~t204. _ Sin ere C~~~~ Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Director of Government Af airs Unplugged ~~ ~t~r~i~a H City-Wide Wireless Network Informational Meeting vim,:.. ..--:: Ne ~ ~, ~_ iew eights ~ve~ olurnb~a ~ . format°n c al w~_F~ In , Mun-c~p a pa~nersh-p ublic-pr~~at e,~ork p ~ ~eig~ts N c®lu~nb~a np lic relations lugged cit1es U and p ub Marketing ;cs . ,r.~. ~~.,E it ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~;.:~, ~, ;~ 'F.,:;~,~~. ~ .,s''. ~~,,~.;t~, ~~?' ~i; ,.~ ''r. - C. Tr' .'4 ~ ', Vim.'+' ; r ~ i ~~ ~ .., ,; ~~ ~'~ '., .i; Z {~~ t' , i . ~ t Q ,~I ~`i~t FI ~'fi~it '~t~,' i i i t t x .., o. .:.~sa._ 9 ~ ~ •sai j l~ ~ hr t +, ~ J~~~ 1;,. .( .~4.L, ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~F ~~ ~ ~ ~~~~ll ~~ ~ ~ l ~r a, YID, . )~.ys,. ~. -r.~ ~ ~ '`~,~a ~ ~ a cv ~ ;~: , c ., ~.i ~7 t 1 Fib i)~(.~~~1~~ _ _. i, ,~ ,I i 1 5 Unplugged }: _. VV~~1 { IkJiV f, g1g-1~.1~a ~l3'i Municipal Wi-Fi Infora ion Public Safety Mobile City Employees Public Works Residents Businesses City Building Connectivity ,tonal ben _~....nrk f®r adds ®nrl U n 1 ~ ~d ~ CoEumE~a Heights _~.__ Public-Private Partnersi City of Columbia Heights owns the network ® Retain control of pricing and oversight Unplugged Cities .® ~. High ~CAt M1 ~~~,,:~. ~-- ~ Se~~~es ®r~~ ~~~,~ Un~~ugged ,- Columbia Heights ~~~~R Residential Subscriber i Subscribers have the option to own or rent the CPE Additional email addresses, daily onli backups, computer anti-virus, erso web hosting Travel dial-up account, and potential roaming on other V1/iFi networks Unplugged Columbia Heights ~. ~ .~~ _~ ._ Business Subscriber pios Standard monthly subscriptions ® Static IP address included in each Subscribers have the option to own or rent the CPE Additional email addresses, daily onli backups, computer anti-virus, corporate web hosting Travel dial-up account, and potential roaming on other V1/iFi networks ~.~-.~ _ U n p I egged Coiumbrea He~gl~t~ . ,d~ Short Term Subscriio Hourly, Daily or Weekly subscription options Promotional cards with access codes in partnership with local businesses ® npl~gged Columbia Heights Ytp't~gt-~C~ CIt1eS ® Partner of choice for the St. Louis Park and Osseo, Minnesota wireless networks ® Twin Cities owned and operated ® Full service ISP ® Fiber, wireless and copper connectivity ® Downtown Minneapolis data center ~ ~ _-=-~" y `-~ ~ ~ ~, Y J__--- Metg -~---` Colut~n~ ---~-~ ~~,~,- nlug~e IVlarketi ~,®p`O a bla xelghts c`ty ®f cotu~ ~ les `s s the lugged ~`t artne~`~ Unp rketing an le f or alt Ana res ~ns~b acts aslp ,` ~ !--.~ ICJ L-~ A _-.~ !~_..l ~J 1~J L'! ® np~~,gged b as He~gt~s ~- :. ~' Col, f Um~ - ~' C e i ® areting will focus on ' e _ _... „"or multlp ® Local, Regional and Nat~ondl r ~ ~-~-- Releases Star ' hts Focus Work with Columbia He-g otters for ribune and Pioneer Press rep. ~ it T t v~s'b~1 y t~J f_.-3 L....1 4~ a_-• increased network and c~ y np~u~ged u °-_ ~ ~ u _r __a ,. (~Q[UEYL~CI Heif~FttS' .~. ~ ~~ Director o~ Saies 763-235-3002 cpederson@unpluggedcities.com www unpluggedcities.com ~ Unplugged ° i Unplugged Cities, a Twin Cities owned and operated Internet Services company provides deployment and i operations of citywide wireless broadband networks. This involves providing a wireless infrastructure under a public/private initiative that creates a ubiquitous 802.11 b{g) citywide Hot Spot. This system provides mobile Internet access to city residents, businesses, and governmental agencies. The notes below outline a few of the available residential, business and governmental uses of the network as well as address security measures deployed in a city-wide wirefess infrastructure. Connectivity and access The user connection will be accomplished without the requirement of expensive Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) along with related expense and time requirements of an installation process. If a customer's J pocket PC, laptop or PDA is not already enabled (most mobile devices manufactured in the last two years are 802.11 enabled) for wireless connection, a PCMCIA card is readily available from numerous retailers, costing between $20-30. According to Business Week 27Million new laptops produced this year, 98% will be Wi-Fi ready. Government Broadband wireless connectivity is the solution to making emergency, public safety, and generally mobile city workers highly effective. Non-mobile staff in city buildings will also benefit from the ability to access the Internet via a laptop or PDA from any room. Migrating from current low-speed data connections to wireless broadband will enable mobile, in-car access to the Amber Alert sex offender database with full photo resolution, access to mug shots and lineups, as well as rapid access to automobile registry systems. Cities wilt also seek to integrate the broadband wireless network with current 700 MHz public safety systems and to interoperate with other regional jurisdictions. Mobile City Workers -Public Safety Public safety services have an obvious need for high-speed mobile data services to allow police, fire, and emergency personnel to access on-line data (e.g. links to criminal databases and automobile registry data) in real-time, sometimes to relay critical information (e.g. to relay medical information from an ambulance to the hospital). With the advances in communications technology and, more recently, with the explosion of interest and services based on wireless LAN technologies operating in the unlicensed spectrum such as Wi-Fi, there is growing interest in implementing public safety systems using such technologies. ~' Mobile City Workers -Non-Public Safety There are many departments within a city that have mobile workers other than public safety workers. Examples include Public Works project supervisors, social workers, building code inspectors, and health inspectors. Outfitting such government workers with wireless devices (laptops or PDAs) enables them to send data in real- time back to government computers as well as to instantly download information Headed to successfully complete the job at hand. In addition, non-mobile city workers such as judges, lawyers, and Council members can maintain constant access to information via the Wi-Fi network using secured technologies such as VPNs. Laptops and hand-held devices could be used in any room or area of the city without the need for tethered connections, while keeping a very secure connection. Parking Monitoring and Management Many cities operate a number of public parking facilities and parking enforcement officers patrol metered -~ street spaces to enforce time limits; and when necessary, issue tickets. The implementation of a broadband ll wireless network can assist in the monitoring of parking facilities and improve the productivity of parking ^ enforcement. A traffic officer could use a PDA to collect data on illegally parked cars and then use a wireless connection at the station house to download the information to automate issuingtickets and reduce data entry errors. If this system is expanded to support mobile broadband data while the traffic officer is on patrol, an automatic cross-check can be made of licenses to see if there are any outstanding warrants or other problems that require special action (e,g. booting or towing the carj. 6041 University Ave'NE, Fridley, MN 55432 I Phone: 763.235.3000 I Fax: 763.235.3030 T~ www.unpluggeUCiUes.com 7 J ,~ • Unplugged Public Works Applications A wireless broadband mesh network enables cities to establish remote monitoring of facilities. This will save time and money by monitoring and controlling mechanical devices, valves, pumps and signs from a central location. Cities and municipalities can use remote monitoring or telemetry to improve their operating efficiency, equipment protection, and customer service. Remote monitoring allows savings through reductions of travel and manual information gathering. Staffs can focus on managing exceptions and preventative maintenance thus maximizing productive time of field employees and the useful life of equipment. Early detection of malfunctions can prevent more costly problems from occurring. Remote monitoring solutions use wireless network connections to obtain data from distant or remote locations, allowing you to store or analyze data in a central location. Data can be transmitted at pre-determined intervals, upon request, and/or when alarm thresholds are met. Timely and consistent data collection can improve the accuracy and validity of analysis. Moreover, there would be an increase in the accuracy of metering. Through use of telemetry, there will be a reduction in human error as data is sent electronically -certainly, there would be increased efficiency in the high-low readings. Data can also be processed through a variety of systems without additional data entry (from hard copy forms to digital). Public Works Departments can realize substantial cost savings on the deployment of their limited resources. As additional bandwidth for the City offices will be provided, multiple 56k dialup connections can be replaced by high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity. Video Surveillance Security cameras are used to detect motion and events while transmitting images every one to four seconds. Surveillance cameras are used to proactively monitor locations in lieu of having onsite personnel and are designed to transmit video or a collection of images every second. Wireless cameras operate on the Wi-Fi or 802.11b(g) spectrum, enabling them to be fully compatible with a broadband wireless mesh network and high- speed Internet connection. Either type of camera could serve as both doterrents and investigational tools for public safety in parks, business environments, parking lots, and could help reduce the occurrence of vandalism and other crimes. As Wi-Fi technology cameras can be installed and removed quickly, the city could also deploy wireless security cameras at public events anywhere in the city. Stadiums, arenas, and parks could all have Wi- Fi available for the public, police, fire department staff, and other government workers. The proliferation of graffiti on both public and privata buildings in cities has become a major problem for both building owners/managers and the city itself. The City expends significant capital to remove graffiti, yet the cleaned building very quickly becomes an enticing target for the same or a different graffiti "artist". Wireless cameras can serve as an effective deterrent to vandalism because it is possible to install a wireless point and tilt camera equipped with a motion sensing mechanism so that the camera is pointed at a frequently used graffiti site. When motion is detected at that site, the camera operates and wirelessly transmits video to the appropriate police response location. 6041 University Ave NE, Fridley, MN 55432 I Phone: 763.235.3000 Fax: 763.235.3030 www.unpluggetlcities.com ~ Unplugged 1 1~ dJ ,~ Service Offerings and Technology Use by Market The chart below lists various service types and applications that will be offered on a planned metro-scale wireless broadband access network. For each of the services and applications that will be supported, the chart provides the high, medium or low opportunity level currently estimated for adoption of that particular service or application in the three primary markots of Residential, Institutional, antl Business customers. A column has also been inserted to cite the services expected to be adopted by city visitors, convention exhibitors and others who would access the network and consider it a city amenity with little or no revenue. Wireless Service Offering Res(dential Institutional Business City Amenity and Visitors Fixed Managed High- speed Wireless Broadbantl Interne[ Acoess High Medium High High-eonvcntion exhibitors T-I Replacement N/A Medium Medium Medimn-exhibitors Disaster Rccovery/Redundancy N/A Medium High N/A Mobile Managed High• Speed Wireless Broadband Emcrgency/Public Safety N/A High Medium N/A Public Works N/A High N/A N/A Euildiug Inspecmrs N/A ~ High N/A N/A Tmfftc/Parking Monitoring & N/A IIigh Low N/A Enforcement Social Workers N/A High N/A N/A Fixed Managed Low- Speetl Wireless Narrowband Connecdvit Casual Users ur parks, plazas, High Medimn High High libru'ics Mobile Managed Low- Speetl Wireless Narrowband Connectivit Casnal Users hr buses, light High Low Metiinm High rail, and other mass h'ansit G041 University Ave NE, Fridley, MN 55432 I Phone: 763.235.3000 I Fax: 763.235.3030 lj www,unpluggedcities.com ~ Unplugged i Security The mesh network is engineered to utilize several components to ensure data security including: • User-defined traffic filters, including filters that allow access only to authorized VPN servers • MAC address access control lists • AES encryption of wireless routing protocols • 128/40 bit WEP chant vPN Server • Full VPN compatibNity The 802.11x standard wireless ~`gprtzonuwev ~-F~ r,aon2etlitwcv t~Iti4' "'~' protocol provides two types of wi•ri c.n ,, wi~F o.u basic encryption: Service SEt Wlretl O~brvey Identification (SSID) and Wired """ aaa::: rram~ Equivalent Privacy (WEP). It is Fitlermtl Flllering however, a relatively well- o ~ known fact that stand-alone wireless networks do not ~~~ provide adequate security. ~ eoz,++Wtrek,$Nniya~, Unplugged Cities has. planned 1TNturnel :. for this contingency with OUY 7~tlptl$Ctlnh'DI,Prtlt•tal "(~ choice of equipment and JJ secondary security measures. ""~ ~'±~r•d Netv9~c Key to the security initiative is engineering specifications. The wireless network has been designed to deliver the same security options that are available on a traditional wired network. Unplugged Cities only uses access points that offer Advanced Encryption Standards (AES), MAC address filtering and VPN traffic filtering on top of 128-bit WEP (not the typical 64-bit WEP that is less difficult to crack). Additional options to further enhance security include a Cisco BBSM for login and authentication as well as ReefEdge, which brings corporate firewall VPN functionality to the wireless network, protecting and securing wireless access to the enterprise network. It provides enhanced enterprise-strength authentication, encryption and fine-grained access controls to stop intruders from reading, modifying or injecting wireless traffic, or accessing protected resources. Additional security is provided by the Aperto system. Security aspects of the PacketWave incorporate a downstream wireless link, in which the Base Station transmits data to Subscriber Units (or CPEs) in the point to ...,, multipoint mode (the upstream wireless link on the other hand, operates in the point-to-point made). ,~JI Because other users may intercept downstream packets, they must be encapsulated to prevent unauthorized access to the data. The packets are encapsulated in Aperto's proprietary Wireless Protocol Data Units (WPDU), which is the base unit of transmission for the Aperto Wireless MAC (WMAC). The WPDU Header has the following fields that are unique to the CPE that the WPDU is addressed to: • Wireless MAC Address of the CPE, each CPE on the wireless link is assigned a SID or unique address, once ~1 it has been properly registered with the BSU. • WPDU Sequence Number, using a 1Gbit field, the BSU uniquely numbers each WPDU that it transmits and this running count is kept separately for each CPE. This numbering is used for ARQ and Ethernet packet fragmentation and re-assembly purposes. When a WPDU is received at the CPE, it goes into the WMAC ASIC, where its SID is examined in the hardware. If the SID does not match the SID assigned to the CPE, then the packet is discarded. If the SID matches, but the Sequence Number does not match the number the WMAC is expecting, then the packet is discarded in the hardware. Note that in either case, the WPDU is discarded without the WMAC making any attempt to extract °'( the Ethernet packets encapsulated in them. G041 University Ave NE, Fridley, MN 55432 I Phone: 763.235.3000 I Fax: 763.235.3030 it www,unpluggedcitles.com .~ Unplugged r Additional Security Measures As mobile workers roam through offices, buildings and across the globe, subnet and multi-network roaming must be addressed. And, most critically, some means of providing continuous, secure connectivity must be devised to enable applications and devices to survive the harsh realities of wireless networking. NetMotion Mobility provides an easily deployed, software solution created specifically to address the many challenges of mobile computing. Through its robust server software and support for a wide range of client platforms, Mobility provides a continuous, secure connection between mobile clients and enterprise applications-no matter what networks mobile workers use or traverse. You can either install your Mobility client software on each wireless device-typically a laptop or handheld, or you can install the Mobility server software on a server; behind a firewall, on your network. The Policy Management module is available as an add-on to the server together, these components provide the functions and services described next: mobility, reliability, security, and central management. .J J For more information contact; Chad Pederson Director of Sales Unplugged Cities 763-235-3002 c pede rso n@u n pluggedc ities.com Henry Camacho Director of Technology Unplugged Cities 763-2353005 hfc@unpl uggedcities.com 6041 University Ave NE, Fridley, MN 55432 I Phone: 763.235.3000 I Fax: 763.235.3030 www,u npluggedcities.com Company finds hot spot in managing city Wi-Fi • Unplugged Cities, a Fridley tech companythat is a player inthe Wi-Fi efforts of St. Louis Park and Osseo, is on the move to Minneapolis. sy F1uc xnxsox dio experience. Three of the compa- etanson@stuin'6une.com ny's four engineers are ham radio op- erators, he said. Paul Kralovec founded his Wi-Fi Because of the particulaz Wi-Fi tech company, Unplugged Cities, two technology it uses, the company's stmt- yeazs ago on the idea that there is an egy is to focus on cities (or even col- opportunity for a business that would lege campuses and commercial prop- aidcities intheir quest to go wireless. erlies) with apopulation density of950 Kralovec began reseazching pub- to 1,000 households per square mile. lic Wi-Fi networks in 2004 onthe sug- "Below that, because you have to gestion of a friend who worked in the per;square mile, .place so many radios ipdustry and telecomriaunicatioris , it becomes uneconomical to nse the , who had planned"on going into busi- metro Wi-Fl`~Eeehnology," Kralovec ness with him: " ' said The friend later dropped out of Cities such as Minnetonka or the plan,but Kralovec kept at it. Now; .Medina or Blaine would be tough for Unplugged Cities -which Kralovec ,Unplugged Cities to work with, he funded'laigely by himself - is the said,' because of the population den- managing partner of Sf. Louis Pazk's isrtp issue as it pertains to its particu- wireless projectand has been awazd- laz technology. Anoka, Coon Rapids or ed the installation and management Fridley wpuId be more ideal contracts for Osseo's wireless net- '.'.There's other technologies that work, too. will work from a wireless standpoint, "Our objective is basically to pro- but this qne is pretty much meant for vide all of the operational services for medium to larger cities and fines that cities," Kralovec said. "Even for a large have relatively dense populations," he city, like Minneapolis and SG Paul, it's said. : - :• really not ecogomjcal foi a city to run This yeaz, he said, the company will. their own Intggrriet network" look to acquire another three to four Servicesgfferedbycomparuessueh medium-sizedcitiesand"fromthere,I as Unplugged Cities include installa- guess we'll see how quickly it grows:' tion;, help de~ support, billing and ~ Mazch, Unplugged Cities will technical support, "pretty much the - mtLve to an office on Washington Av- gamut;" ~Kralovec said, ,eerie in downtown Minneapolis, next ` The benefiE~f Wi-Fi for cities, said t<i' one of the company's operations director of sales and mazketing Chad centers. Pederson, is that a Wi-Fi network of- The city of Fridley is in the process fers a mobile and more efficient way to of buying the building and aneighbor- manage the public safety services and ins one as part of a redevelopment ef- utilitiesthat cities provide to residents. fort along University Avenue. Municipal Wi-Fi also can be attractive "At this point 'we're still trying to in luring potential business and resi- plan for what we're going tq replace dents to a city. those buildings with, but it's an azea The company's staff is about 75, in- that we think is somewhat blighted eluding a handful of people in Junc- and we're looking at that area For fu- tion City, Kan., who handle the com- foie redevelopment;' said City Man- pany's help desk support. When look- ager Bill Burns. ins to hire people, Kralovec sought il_ _ ~ _ L L_..L Tai.-~~..a ....1 -.. ~ ~_.. ~... ten- ie.-. iA Safeguarding sensitive business information has never been more important. n February 2005, when nude photographs and the phone numbers of celebrities stored on Paris Hilton's Sidekick cell phone were posted on several Web sites by a group of hackers, she found out the hard way what happens when your wireless device security is breached. According to the Washington Post, one hacker simply acted like a T-Mobile supervisor, called a T-Mobile store, and asked for the Web address for T-Mobile's secure customer account Web site, where he learned Hilton's cell phone number. The hackers then used the phone number to gain access to Hilton's T- Mobile account, change the password on her Sidekick, and lock her out of her own phone. While businesses need to protect their wireless devices and networks from such scam artists, there are a few other security issues to watch out for. For instance, unse- cured wireless networks. "If a hacker gains access via your wireless network, it's the exact same thing as him or her physically sitting at one of your workstations and log- ging in," says Mark Pfeffer, product manager at Eschelon Telecom, a provider of voice, data, and Internet services and business telephone systems in Minneapolis. "How nervous would that make you?" "Wireless security is more difficult because wireless tech- nology enables tremendous mobility," says Steve Butt, dir- ector of consulting services at Technology Management Corporation, a business technology consulting company in WII2ELFS.S SECURITY GETS ~,n '~-SPECIAL FOCUS'"; q~k.EGOMMUNICATI0N5 (. M/;N(til Shorewood. "This means that the :arget devices are constantly mov- ng around in an envtrortment that :ompanies cannot control, yet the .tsers are demanding the same access to the same highly valuable iota and applications that the more :ashy secured fixed devices have." ?ortable devices that contain confi- iential information should be en- ;typted, stored in a locked area, and password-protected. [Jotebook :omputers should be secured with t cable lock, a device that looks like t cable bike lock and attaches to the :omputet's lock slot. We asked local telecommunica- ions professionals about what tusinesses can do to secure their nobile devices and data in the face rf security threats such as hackers and the opportunists who troll the :ity looking For unsecured wireless nternet networks. encryption is Key 'feffer says that the starting point or a secure wireless connection is dequate encryption. Encryption is he process of translating data into . code that is unreadable except by reople who have a password or key" to decode the information. 'roviding a password or several passwords, also known as authen- ication, essentially proves that you re authorized to access a device ~r network. Hackers who en- ounter mobile devices and wire- :ss networks that are protected by ncryption can't gain access with- ut the password, so they move on ~ a victim who is unprotected. 4obile devices and wireless net- rorks may come with a "standard" etting for encryption, but experts yarn that all businesses should hange this setting and secure rear devices and networks using to newest encryption standards. "The cun-ent best option [for ncryp[ion] is WPA2;' Pfeffer says. 3owever, not all client hardware zpports this level of encryption." lPAZ, or wi-Ci protected access, is security protocol set by the Wash- IT'S GETTING HOT IN IiERE: WIRELESS MINNEAPOLIS ~/(/ inneapolis is well on its way to becoming a wi•fl hot zone. band Internet connectivity. Residents will pay $19.99 per moot In November, the City of Minneapolis signed a contract with Min- for access and businesses will pay $39.99 per month. The pricy netonka-based U S Internet Corporation-the company will pro• will be capped For 10 years. vide wireless broadband service throughout Minneapolis and is building the $20 million network at its own expanse. A pilot program in the CedarRNerside neighborhood gat the hall rolling. Radio antennae for the network are being installed in six sections of the city, starting with downtown Minneapolis, which may he wi•Fi-ready in June. lames Farstad, program man- ager for Wireless Minneapolis and president of RClient, LLC, a technology consulting firm in Minneapolis, says that the imple• mentation will start out slowly and then get faster, with project completion slated far the end of 2007. > > > FARSTAD SAYS TNERE ARE FOUR MAIN WAYS IN WILL AFFECT BUSINESSES: j ~ J The City of Minneapolis wilt improve service delivery far residents and visitors. City employees that are mobile, such as puhlic•works and public-safety personnel, will he equipped with foals that provide them with infarmat(on mare quickly. For exam- ple, building inspectors could call up past violations on their mobile devices while in the Field, and patient information could be sent from an ambulance while it (s en route to the hospital. l~ JThe network will help promote Minneapolis as a stanc out choice for doing business, relocating, and holding meetinc and cornentiens, As part of its agreement with U S Internet, the city negotiai ed Far neighborhood portals, which are community•ariented We pages for the various Minneapolis neighborhoods. Far instance, you stopped to get coffee in Kingfield and logged onto the Intel net, KingField's very own community Web portal would pop ul The way in which the neighborhood portals will operate is still6e ing discussed, but businesses that are trying to target customer in certain neighborhoods stand to benefit from content that i provided in the prevalent language of the neighherhood's yes dents-far example, English, Somali, or Spanish. Farstad says that Wireless Minneapolis was also designe with security in mind. Kurt Lange, U S Internet's cofounder, say his company uses the best security methods available today t ensure user safety. Any wi-R user can create a virtual private net work as an added level of security. Farstad paints out that some of the responsibility far security necessarily falls on the shoal dens of the end user. "We've built this with the idea that it cal t ~ J Each neighborhood will be provided with a Web portal that provides neighborhood-specific content, which could include postings for schools and community centers, and information on local businesses. 1 ~ ~ Wireless Minneapolis will provide affordable 6road• evolve. We want it to stay current and stay state•of-the art, Farstad says. The initiative is being touted as an entrepreneur's drean come true. "The interesting thing is we don't know all the apple cations nor will we think of them; Lange says, °but this tech nolegy will enable the business user to a new level." -K. h ington, D.C.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Eugi- neers,Inc. White many devices use wired equivalent privacy encryption, or WEP, it's easy to break the code. "There are hundreds of tutorials Eor cracking WEP encryption on the Web," Pfeffer says. If you don t have knowledgeable wireless security resources in- house, work with a telecommuni- cations consultant with a back- ground in security to make sure you have appropriate security measures. "We advise our busi- ness customers to maximize both the level of encryption available within their wireless network and the level of authentication within their wireless devices;' says John Stanoch, the Minnesota president ~ of Qwest, a provider of telecom- munications services. ~ Besides encryption, businesses should be careful not to broadcast certain information over the wire- less network. For instance, guard your service set identifier, or SSID, which is the 32-character alphanumeric key that differenti- ates one wireless local-area net- work fiom another. (All devices that aze trying to connect to a given wireless local area network must use the same SSID.) Pfeffer net of a wireless network-a net- work within the network-that is as small as you can make it while still allowing the appropriate number of users. A subnet can improve the performance and increase security of the network Staying up to date on security alerts is another way to stay on top of wireless security. Stanoch recommends checking aut www. cert.org, a Web site that examines Internet vulnerabilities and net- work security issues and is oper- ated by Carnegie Mellon Univer- sity in Pittsburgh. Policy Points "Companies need to be at least as serious about wireless security as they are about physical security," Bult says. Businesses need to follow standards for technology, threat assessment, and threat re- mediation, including the mainte- nance ofanti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software, and keep- ing application and operating system patches current. But the best security efforts can be undermined by the end user. More companies are writing poli- cies that address the issues of wireless device security: How do you ensure wireless devices and networks are encrypted and pass- word protected? Can employees set up their own wireless subnet to work from home on the compa- ny's wireless network? What steps should an employee take after a mobile device is stolen? What should be done when an unautho- rued person has accessed infor- mation on a mobile device or wireless network? Clearly stated protocols protect employees and the company. Companies should also be wary of Spam, phishing, and virus at- tacks on mobile devices, which could increase as services such as instant messaging on cell phones become more popular, Currently, these attacks are more common Mark Pfeffer, Eschelon Telecom ing and text messaging from mobile devices is well established and thus is more likely to be used as an avenue of attack, Bult says. "The good news here is that the rapid pace of device and technolo- gy change means there is a limited pool of target devices for any par- ticular malicious software. The ability of these devices to be infect- ed is also rather recent;' Bult says. "It is not too late for a business to develop and implement a robust wireless security plan." For workers accessing corpo- rate systems from public wireless networks, such as those in air- ports and coffee shops, use of a virtual private network connec- tion-such as those used com- monly in home offices-should be mandatory. Virtual private net- works use encryption to build a "pseudo-private" network inside a public network. It may come as a surprise, but Bult has discovered that some companies remain vulnerable: "I know of more than one 'hvin Cities company that I have per- sonally found to have wireless ac- cess points that are totally unse- cured. This [allows] any person to gain access to the corporate data network behind the firewall and would allow them to try to hack into the company's servers. This is especially a problem in multi-ten- ant locations, where wireless sig- nals from one compan~s access points can leak over into the space occupied by another company." Encrypting the wireless network at each access point would protect these companies. Basic protocol, such as merely turning your security features on, can provide some protection. But if you take security a few steps fur- therand create a policy that backs up your security plan, chances are you won't become prey to hackers or opportunists. 7CB Katie Harholdt is associate editor Comcast. COLUMBIA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY TELEVISION JANUARY 2007 PROGRAMS • Mayor's Report (1/9) - 0:22:14 • Mayor's Report (1/23) -0:25:30 • Columbia Heights Youth Wrestling - 0:43:45 • Yashua Messiah (2 shows) @ 0:58:00 • Rice Creek Watershed District Board Meeting -1:56:00 • Rice Creek Watershed District Board Meeting - 1:02:25 • Newsworthy (4 shows) @ 0:30:00 • From the Mic (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Healing Center International (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Scotty J's Trailer Trash (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Environmental Journal Classics (4 shows) @ 0:30:00 • Mysteries of the Kingdom (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Repentance and Love (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • The Leslie Davis Show (2 shows) @ 0:30:00 • House Call (4 shows) @ 0:30:00 • UFO's and the Paranormal (4 shows) @ 2:00:00 • Friendship Set To Music (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Reality Christianity (4 shows) @ 0:30:00 • Vet's Visit on TV (2 shows) @ 0:29:30 • Love Power (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 • Time of Restoration (4 shows) @ 0:30:00 • Light On The Gospel - 1:00:00 • The LaRouche Connection (4 shows) @ 0:58:30 • Army Newswatch (2 shows) @ 0:28:30 • The Prophetic Word (4 shows) @ 0:28:30 • That Which Is (4 shows) @ 0:59:00 • Cluistopher Close Up (4 shows) @ 0:28:00 • Somali TV of Minnesota (4 shows) @ 1:00:00 Programs Produced (internal) 4 Programs Produced (external) 81 CHANNEL PROGRAMMING • Cablecast Programs 115 • Cablecast Hours 117 FACILITY USE • Studio Hours 16 • Editing Hours 38 • Mac G - 4 Usage Hours 44 • Portable Equipment Checkouts 1 COMMENTS In January staff produced a program with Liz Bray and long time youth wrestling coach Dave Seawell. The show featured the repair and renovation of the high school's wrestling room. Looking ahead to February, it will be a busy rnonth here at the studio. Besides shooting another program in our "We Remember -World War II Veterans" series, we will also be producing a show highlighting the City's vaz~ious building projects as well as a program on cultural diversity that will feature community leaders and representatives from the City.