STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Government Performance and Financial Management
AGENDA DATE: December 9, 2020
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): N/A
DEPARTMENT: Office of Equity and Inclusion
EXECUTIVE: M. Elizabeth Cedillo-Pereira
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SUBJECT
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Authorize an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with Dallas Independent School District and the City of Dallas to share in the cost of procuring private cellular network services for the period December 9, 2020 through December 30, 2020 - Not to exceed $500,000.00 - Financing: U.S. Department of Treasury - Coronavirus Relief Funds
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BACKGROUND
The City of Dallas (City) recognizes that having access to the internet is critical for families and individuals, and the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified this need. While practicing social distancing and dealing with the closures of many businesses and social services, internet access helps families and individuals conduct a wide range of activities, from schoolwork, to job searching, to seeking health care, to paying bills. In the 2016 United States Census Bureau American Community Survey, Dallas was identified as one of the major United States cities with the highest percentage of households (42.3%) with no fixed internet access.
Closing the digital gap for Dallas residents means that residents have access to high speed internet and that all residents are connected to the internet.
- Internet access is central to increasing economic mobility and that 60-70% of total job openings are posted online
- Lack of internet access disproportionately impacts low-income families and students of color.
In March 2020, Dallas Independent School District (DISD) initiated Operation Connectivity recognizing that students need robust and reliable home Internet to facilitate asynchronous or “virtual” learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Operation Connectivity working group analyzed data and identified the ten most highly impacted Dallas zip codes with the largest number of households with children, without Internet access to better understand the needs.
DISD, the City and nearly a dozen other public education institutions in the Dallas metroplex have joined Operation Connectivity - also known as “Internet for All - Dallas” - and developed a shared vision of ensuring robust, affordable Internet service for all Dallas residents. The vision of the group is to ensure all households in Dallas County have high speed internet and access to devices in their home. Internet for All’s four key areas of focus are:
1. Wired Subscriptions - designing a solution to meet everyone’s shared needs (educational and overall needs);
2. Wireless Design - working with private sector to increase subscriptions;
3. Dallas Fact Base - using data to track progress as a County (adoption rates related to access and need); and
4. Community Engagement - working closely with the community to understand their needs and providing information.
To meet these needs, the City of Dallas, in partnership with Dallas ISD, intends to contract with qualified firms with the ability to design, install and configure complete private wireless network infrastructure to provide fixed wireless internet connectivity to the homes of District students and families. The contract includes furnishing and installing new radios and antennas using existing towers or aerial structures, configurations of all equipment, fiber backhaul to the District schools if the towers are not located on the campus, licensing, testing/certifying of all the new cabling, permitting, if applicable, as well as all other associated work.
The private wireless broadband solution to provide home access to the internet and District instructional network within approximately 2-mile to 5-mile radius from each pilot location. The infrastructure will be scalable to a maximum five (5) miles from the broadcast locations and provide internet filtering capabilities to ensure Children’s Internet Protection Act compliance at all times.
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
On April 22, 2020, City Council authorized the City Manager to spend funds in compliance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury for the Coronavirus Relief Fund take all necessary actions to apply for and receive funds for which the City is eligible from state and federal sources; receive and deposit funds in an amount not to exceed $234,443,127.60, by Resolution No. 20-0644.
On June 17, 2020, City Council was briefed on Budget Workshop: Update on COVID-19, FY20 & Upcoming Biennial Budgets on June 17, 2020.
The Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Assistance was briefed by memorandum regarding this matter on December 3, 2020.
FISCAL INFORMATION
|
Fund |
FY 2021 |
FY 2022 |
Future Years |
|
U.S. Department of Treasury - Coronavirus Relief Funds |
$500,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |