Government Technology

[Commentary] Despite the fact that AT&T and Verizon stores are abundant in many neighborhoods, it doesn’t take much to show that large incumbents do not adequately serve urban communities. Many cities build better, faster, cheaper networks and offer better customer service. And Google's recent news about its move into the wireless world highlights how Google, municipalities and others can bring stronger competition to incumbents. Whether a community network’s customers are individuals, companies or organizations, give them gigabit wired or wireless, and they will be happier, more productive users.

[Commentary] Many are surprised by the news that Google is delaying some of its municipal fiber builds -- and speculation is building that the company is quietly upping its wireless game. Those who've watched the municipal broadband space since the muni Wi-Fi days, however, aren't likely to be surprised by this. The reason? In 2004, Philadelphia's dream of building a citywide public Wi-Fi network captivated the country and started a wave of frenzied press releases and mayoral proclamations, and a handful of network buildouts. But alas, all went for naught. Lately, however, a combination of need, cost and innovation is rekindling the dream. It seems our industry forgets that individuals, businesses and organizations don’t care very much if Internet access arrives wirelessly or by wired connection as long as it is fast, reliable, secure and affordable. Hybrid networks have a seat at the broadband table. Deal 'em in.

[Craig Settles assists communities with developing their broadband business and marketing plans, and help communities raise money for broadband projects]

Swelling numbers coupled with a temporary setback in fundraising have prompted the civic tech nonprofit Code for America (CfA) to begin restructuring its volunteer Brigade program. The undertaking, arguably one of the most pivotal the group has addressed since its start in 2009, aims to construct an operating model that can sustain its continued expansion. Since 2012, the San Francisco-based organization’s Brigade program has seen aggressive growth in its work to provide civic tech and open data tools to cities nationwide. CfA used part of a $1.5 million grant from Google to launch the Brigades, and in the five years that the program has existed, it’s increased its ranks from 19 chapters to now more than 80, with thousands of volunteers in cities throughout the US.

The program’s dramatic rise, however, has also pushed costs upward, and in 2015 a fundraising shortfall led CfA to freeze its financial support for Brigade operating expenses, events and meet-ups. CfA Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka said in a letter that this funding gap has since been closed by donors, but to ensure sustainability, the program must identify a new model for operations that isn’t as dependent on financial support from its parent organization.

Columbus (OH) bus riders soon won’t have to worry about blowing through their smartphone data limits as they wait for their stop. The Central Ohio Transit Authority plans to offer wireless Internet on all buses before the end of 2017. COTA recently began installing new wireless communication technology on its buses to replace outdated radios.

Initially, that will be used to transmit bus data faster, so COTA’s real-time bus tracking will be more reliable. But the devices that are being installed on 444 COTA vehicles also accept wireless cards that can broadcast Wi-Fi to people riding the bus. Those devices will be installed by October, and COTA plans to roll out Wi-Fi in 2017, said Jeff Vosler, COTA’s chief financial officer. “It’s pretty simple,” he said. “It’s not unlike what you have in your home.” COTA still needs to iron out which vendor it will use, what speeds it will offer and whether users will have to pay to access Wi-Fi on buses. The agency already has its new wireless technology on eight buses, and Vosler said it is working well. It sends data every 15 seconds instead of every minute, so real-time data is more reliable. COTA paid about $1.6 million for the technology.

Federal technologists, change makers and academics joined the city of San Francisco (CA) in a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 14 for Superpublic, San Francisco’s new innovation lab. The venture is a first for the city as its work commands support and talent from regional, state and federal organizations in addition to academic and private-sector contributions.

The General Services Administration (GSA) — which manages 375 million square feet of federal property — has offered the lab a 5,000-square-foot operating space in the heart of San Francisco’s downtown and support from its digital consultancy 18F, housed in the same building, which works to guide government to build, buy and share modern technology. Other partners include UC Berkeley, the Center for Design Research at Stanford University, the MIT Media Lab, Microsoft and Deloitte. The lab’s supporting nonprofits include the City Innovate Foundation and the Local Government Commission, both with missions to drive urban innovation efforts. The lab will be mutually beneficial for the GSA. Denise Turner Roth, the GSA’s administrator, described Superpublic as a new testing ground to expand 18F’s footprint and impact in cities nationwide. Since it was founded in 2014, the group has grown to support a number of innovation projects in federal agencies. This has dispatched its team of engineers, designers and procurement specialists to develop and rework a bevy of digital tools and IT buying strategies that now can be applied more locally.

A Q&A with General Services Administration Administrator Dan Tangherlini

Only a couple years old now and the federal digital consultancy 18F has a lot to deal with. The innovation group, which helps agencies build, buy and share modern tech, is under fire from sources within and outside of government. Externally, 18F is defending itself from IT lobbyists, representing companies like IBM, Deloitte, Cisco Systems and others, that allege 18F is hindering revenues as a competing government tech provider — a message they shared at a recent hearing evaluating 18F's effectiveness. Internally, the group has met resistance from CIOs unsure of its private-sector development practices, and within the General Services Administration (GSA), 18F's parent agency, insiders say that the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) that funds 18F is actively working to terminate the group. Tangherlini said 18F, one of the contributors responsible for saving Healthcare.gov, should be allowed to innovate, especially considering the federal government’s nearly $90 billion in IT spending, 75 percent of which is spent on outdated technology, according to a recent 18F oversight report by the Government Accountability Office.

In Austin (TX), population 885,000, some 55,000 residents say they don't use the Internet — at all. But the City Council refuses to accept this. “It is critical that every one of our residents has access to digital and communications technology, and understands technology and its relevancy to their daily lives, whether for helping with their kids’ homework, or looking for jobs, getting access to health information or accessing online government information,” the council writes. And the city’s Office of Digital Inclusion is charged with making that vision a reality by working with a range of private-sector and nonprofit providers to ensure connectivity and encourage Internet use.

Austin’s effort has drawn kudos as a model of how municipalities can help to narrow the broadband gap, recently winning a Digital Inclusion Leadership Award from the National League of Cities. “To have a city office dedicated to this, that is a pretty strong indication of the seriousness that they are giving to it,” said Colin Rhinesmith, author of [The Benton Foundation's] Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives and a senior lecturer at Boston's Simmons College.

It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard of open data by now, and yet the state and local governments working to expose their data are vastly outnumbered by those that are waiting for a solid business case to support the idea before they try it.

Open data, by its nature, does not guarantee specific cost savings, service improvements or more efficiency. The uncertainty that wards off so many is the same trait that makes open data alluring to those who were willing to make the leap of faith.

Three open data advocates in Pasadena and Riverside (CA) and in Chicago shared what it takes to get started on open data, why it’s worth it, and the arguments they use when faced with opposition.

Just like physical documents and emails, government social media conversations and interactions are considered public data.

But while many agencies have invested in automated tools to help them mine platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to fulfill Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, there haven’t been a high volume of them. Seattle and Austin, Texas, both use services to archive digital activity and communications. Yet, representatives from both cities said that they rarely receive any public information requests for social media postings.

The city of Philadelphia (PA) has signed a new deal with the IT services company Unisys to provide a comprehensive 311 system for residents. City officials say the new system will give citizens instant access to ask a question or lodge a complaint by landline, text, mobile device or on the Web.

Philadelphia receives between 1.2 million and 1.5 million calls to its existing 311 line, according to the service’s Executive Director, Rosetta Lue. To handle the expected growth in 311 calls, the city did an open request for proposals, and ultimately chose Unisys. Part of the appeal of going with the company, Lue said, is that it is offering cloud-based hosting, in partnership with cloud platform company Salesforce.