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optic cable to each home in the state of Minnesota. While this is an admirable goal, the question remains as to who will pay for the installing of the cable and who will pay to bring it to each home and business? Who will be responsible for the infrastructure? Who will have the ultimate responsibility in deciding which service provider may use the infrastructure? At the conference, many examples of private /public sector collaborations were presented that tried to answer the above questions. It was apparent that if there were public dollars used in installing the fiber optic cable, the public agency, usually a municipality, wanted total control of which provider had the access to the home. How It Might Work For St. Anthony. Based on the information presented in this memo as the result of attending several meetings and workshops, it would seem that there are opportunities to use wireless technology to enhance its services that the City provides. The three departments that would appear to benefit the most from the wireless Internet are Liquor, Police and Public Works. These departments interact most with the public and so having the ability to obtain or transmit real time information is an important aspect of their mission. The Police Department is the obvious benefactor of this technology, especially since they provide law enforcement services to three communities. I am sure being able to have in- vehicle broadband accessibility makes their job easier in many ways: they do not need to drive back to the station to upload or download information; reports can be done on the spot and transmitted to wherever the information is needed; and they have immediate access to needed information from the County or the State. The Public Works Department productivity would be enhanced as well by wireless accessibility to information, such as GPS data in locating main breaks, alarm the well houses and lift stations, real time communication with other departments in cases of emergency and transmitting water meter readings to the Finance Department. The Liquor Operations would employ wireless Internet to better serve their customers by providing a more reliable credit card processing, between store communications and providing update information to customers on various products. Currently, the two stores are limited in their access to the Internet. The Silver Lake Village store has a T -1 line that brings Internet into the store but at a cost of $250 a month. The Liquor Operations Manager would like bring that cost in line with what Comcast would charge if he had cable running the store. In speaking with both the Liquor Operations Manager and Ms. Wilson, they have both reported that Comcast does not view installing cable worth their cost at the present time, because they will not realize much revenue as a result. If the residents who are anticipated to move into the town home and apartment units desire access to cable, Comcast will install the necessary infrastructure thereby making it accessible to the Silver Lake Village store. But until then, businesses, including the municipal liquor store, will only have expensive limited Internet access. The St. Anthony Marketplace store has access and is currently working with Comcast to provide Internet access as per the franchise agreement that they have with us through North Suburban Cable. Challenges and Opportunities. Several years ago, a telecommunications company came into St. Anthony and asked the City I they could install wireless receivers on the utility poles. They indicated that this equipment could be used to provide wireless Internet services. This equipment was installed, but not used and it has become obsolete and the company has gone bankrupt. It will cost some money to remove those units, but I was told to mitigate these expenses, especially if the HAMemos\2005 \Wire1ess Internet 05032005.doc rev. 4