Chicago moves to build metropolitan-area network

From...

by James Cope

(IDG) -- It may mean snaking optical fiber through sewer lines and old tunnels or burying conduits in public transportation rights-of-way, but the city of Chicago is setting plans to build a high-speed metropolitan-area network (MAN) that will be designed to link government offices, businesses, schools and local neighborhoods.

Earlier this month, the city issued a formal request for information to gauge technology vendors' interest in the proposed CivicNet project and to test the viability of the network from a business perspective. Responses are due back by Jan. 19, and a more formal request for proposals is scheduled to follow early next spring.

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As of last week, hundreds of companies had responded to the informational request via a Web site devoted to the project that the city has set up, said CivicNet project director Doug Power, who works for Chicago's Department of General Services. But he added that it's too early to tell how much it will cost to develop CivicNet, which is expected to take 10 years to complete.

Power said that CivicNet will rely on a contingent of interested vendors and users working in conjunction with the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors, a group chaired by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley that includes representatives from local government, business, and academic institutions.

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As envisioned, the network would handle all communications traffic for the city's government agencies, schools, parks department and transit system, Power said. In addition, he said, it could function as a bandwidth utility for businesses, medical facilities and even individual residences.

Power likened the CivicNet plans to projects in which local governments build roads, waterworks, sewers and airports to entice companies to move in or to prevent them from going elsewhere. In today's e-business era, he said, big cities like Chicago need to provide access to high-speed networks.

Mary Regan, an analyst at The Yankee Group in Boston, concurred with that view and described CivicNet as "a bold initiative that demonstrates the ever-burgeoning demand for high-speed connectivity in extended metropolitan areas."

The city "isn't interested in getting into the telecommunications business" itself, Power said. Instead, Chicago wants to facilitate development of the CivicNet MAN by pulling together a consortium of technology vendors that would build, own and manage the network, he explained.

As an enticement, the nearly $30 million that Chicago spends each year on networking and telecommunications services would go to the companies that operate CivicNet. The city "would be like the anchor tenant in a shopping mall," Power said.

Chicago officials hope to sign contracts with vendors by the end of next year, Power said. He added that it's unlikely that any single vendor could handle the job of building and operating the network, which is expected to be based on Ethernet standards and to carry both data and voice communications.

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