Strategies for Working with Governments, Telcos, Non-profits,

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Strategies for Working with Governments, Telcos,
Non-profits, and Independent businesses Lessons
from the Austin Wireless City Project
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Case Study Austin, Texas

• Non-profit project started Oct 02
• Network launched Sep 03
• International network of hotspots
• All volunteers

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Why create a non-profit?

• To coordinate organization between local, state,
  federal govts, incumbents (telcos), access
  providers, independent businesses, and the
  general public
• Non-threatening
• Philanthropic
• Community service
• Volunteerism

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Initial Positioning
state gov
Center position facilitates communication among
players as mediator and educator
local biz
state leg

• Also
• University
• Public Advocacy Groups
• Technical Community
• General Public

fed gov
telcos
fed leg
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Creating the Umbrella
We are ALL Austin Wireless City Project

• Promotes common goal
• Negates Us vs Them
• Encourages How can I help?
• Highlights How can I stop interfering?
• Defuses natural competitiveness/defensiveness
• Harder than it looks!

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Working with the City

• Dont ask for permission if you dont need it
• Start with local businesses and non-profits
• Be self-reliant
• Offer lots of assistance/education to others
• Share your contacts and make introductions
• Be flexible, helpful, and patient when the City
  decides to engage

Make yourself an attractive partner to the City
Why partner with the City? Because the Citys
participation adds critical credibility when
attracting other partners
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Messages to the City

• Were helping local businesses stay competitive
• Were helping local non-profits provide service
• Were building community
• Were self-reliant
• Were cost-effective because were using open
  source software and off-the-shelf equipment
• Were secure and we care about security

• Were providing public education and hands-on
  training
• Were involving youth
• Were involving the unemployed and
  under-employed as volunteers and re-training
  them
• Were helping the local economy
• We dont need city money
• We can offer assistance to the city if it wants
  it

• Were addressing our local digital divide
• We encourage the city to join us

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City Strategy

• Spend your time working with cooperative
  departments
• Libraries are usually the most cooperative
• Parks too
• Engage other departments only when they ask
• Increase City participation department-by-departme
  nt
• Involve elected officials in press releases and
  media events

Make the City a partner, one department at a time
What does partnership look like? City staff
becomes volunteers in wireless project. Efforts
made under umbrella, not alone
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Explore Telco Partnership

• Attempt to include telcos in your meetings
• Find sympathetic telco staffers and cultivate
  them
• Help telcos understand your motivation
• A telco partnership can be extremely beneficial,
  but complicated
• A single telco is a multi-headed beast. Sales
  Dept is friendliest.

Understand their motivation
Telcos need to make money Find a creative way to
get telcos to help you, make money, and look good
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Working with State Agencies

• Very similar strategy as working with cities
• The State also has easier depts than
  otherslibraries, parks, etc.
• Rely on your City CIOs when engaging State CIO.
  They understand each other

Partner with the State one agency at a time
Why partner with the State? The State adds
credibility when attracting other cities and
influencing the legislature
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Influencing the State/Federal Legislature

• Keep local elected representatives informed
• Be available to provide advice on pending
  legislation
• Offer alternatives to unfavorable legislation
• Focus on populist and local economic
  determination arguments
• Show your list of umbrella allies
• Include elected representatives in media
  opportunities

Participation in legislative process is critical
to survival
Why participate? The Legislature regulates the
activities of telcos, State agencies, and cities
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Messages to the State Legislature

• Rural cities need connectivity or they will die
• Many parts of big cities also lack sufficient
  connectivity
• The project is helping cities help themselves
  cost-effectively
• Businesses will abandon cities without
  connectivity and move to ones that have it
• Cities are investing in economic development
• Cities are providing essential services to
  address Digital Divide

• The cities are working together to solve a
  common problem
• Cities, not telcos, have the right to determine
  whether a city lives or dies
• It is the citys right to attempt to help itself
  survive
• The Legislature should encourage self-reliance
  and initiative from cities

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Legislative Strategy

• Bring real people with good stories to testify
• Encourage City and State staff to tell their
  stories and provide data
• Coordinate stories to develop complete message
  plan
• Prepare to be exhausted and frustrated with
  process
• Telcos will have a huge advantage in Legislature

Testimonies from real people, businesses, and
cities is critical
How can you win? The Legislature needs votes to
stay elected. They do not want to upset
impassioned connected people who will vote
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Legislative Arguments

• Q Cities should not provide telecom services.
  Telcos should provide them.
• A Most cities do not want to provide telecom
  services, but they are forced to consider all
  possibilities when telcos do not provide needed
  services.
• Q The free market will provide solutions without
  government interference
• A Evidence already shows that this is not true
  with telecom. Many small cities do not have
  broadband now. Many parts of large cities do not
  have sufficient broadband.

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More Legislative Arguments

• Q Government competition is unfair to telcos
  because they have invested a lot of money in
  infrastructure and should not have to compete
  against tax dollars
• A City governments do not expect to force telcos
  to invest unwisely however, city governments
  still require connectivity even if it does not
  make business sense to a telco
• A Not every government expenditure must make
  direct business sense. Government expenditures
  in social and physical infrastructure are
  long-term investments in society.
• A Societal investment in infrastructure is the
  proper role of government
• Q City projects will waste tax payer dollars
• A There are many examples of successful,
  cost-effective projects

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More Legislative Arguments

• Q Government should not compete with private
  sector
• A City governments dont want to compete, but
  are forced to create a solution when the private
  sector abandons a market or refuses to enter it
• A There are already many examples of government
  competition in education, transportation, and
  healthcare
• Q City government is not competent to provide
  telecom services
• A Cities have developed competence in expertise
  providing many complicated services including
  aviation, transit, water treatment, and emergency
  services
• A Cities always have the option to out-source
  services to private sector in a competitive bid
• A The cities do not have to provide the services
  themselves, but can participate in an umbrella
  partnership that provides the services

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More Information

• www.lessnetworks.com
• Call US 1 408 715 6885
• UK 44 207 043 9229
• US toll-free 1 800 929 8891
• E-mail info_at_lessnetworks.com

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