STAFF REPORT TO SANDY CITY COUNCIL

MEETING DATE:     10/17/2011
BY:                             Joe Knapp
SUBJECT:                 IT Department – Monthly Report

SandyNet

WiFi – Improvements continue to be made to the WiFi network. We have installed additional backhaul infrastructure in the network bringing our total number of “Root Access Points” (or RAP) up to 50, up from 18 at the beginning of the summer. Each RAP in the mesh network increases the overall speed and capacity of that area of the mesh, so the more we can get the better performance we can provide for our customers. One goal of this biennium is to get all of our WiFi APs converted to RAPs.

The installation service for in city WiFi continues to put a large burden on staff. Our average installations for the past 3 months are over 20 per month.

Rural Wireless – Tower construction on the Waybill tower is progressing nicely. The foundation has been poured and they are expecting to begin installing tower segments on 10/14/2011.

Below is a photo of the foundation when it was formed up, this gives you an idea of the amount of concrete and re-bar that is now buried under structural fill… something on the order of several hundred thousand pounds.

 

 

 

 

 

Fiber to the Home – We received two proposals for the FTTH Pilot project. Both of the proposals look very good and seem to indicate that our initial cost projections were fairly accurate. I am working on preparing a detailed comparison of the responses to review with the SandyNet Advisory Board. They will then be able to make recommendations to council as to how to proceed with this project.

We received a lot of interest and encouragement for this project while attending the NATOA conference in San Francisco last month. Hopefully we can return next year with an update on a successful deployment.

Customer Billings – Customer revenues continue to look promising. We are ahead of projections by a healthy margin for the biennium (click the graphs below for larger view).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT Department

Virtualization Project – Testing of virtual desktops has begun. We have also made progress with Clackamas County to get a point to point VPN in place that will enable us to begin testing the virtual desktop environment for the police department while still allowing them to have access to required county resources.