R2014-03 ACCEPTING THE BID - BODINE COMMUNICATIONS

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VOICE AND DATA COMMUNICATIONS CITY OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS 2014 AND BEYOND THE CHALLENGE There is an ever-constant pressure on local government to seek and find improvements in operating efficiency. Many term this phenomenon "doing more with less". This pressure demands ever-better and faster communications and data transfer for those seeking to execute the mandates and responsibilities of government administration. Fiber optic technology is one current application that affords the opportunity to gain these required economies of scale for governmental operations. With fiber optic technology we are presently at the scale of"gigabit" capacity moving at the speed of light. THE CITY'S"TRACK RECORD" It should be noted that the City of Decatur has already begun an investment in this core technology that promises to provide efficiencies for the foreseeable future. WIRELESS - The City currently has a wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) for data communication to 5 office locations from the City's Civic Center central processing site. This technology was first established in 2001 replacing leased lines to increase our communication capacity by 30 times. In 2007, an upgrade to 2"d generation wireless technology increased our capacity by 10 times. Each time, the increased communications capacity enabled the City to make available applications and technology in the remote locations not possible without the increased capacity. INITIAL FIBER OPTIC - In 2011, a major water main project on Martin Luther King Jr. allowed for the installation of fiber conduit in the open trenches at a minimum cost for future fiber installation to connect City offices. A 12 strand Fiber cable was installed during this project to connect South Water Treatment Plant. This provided a gigabit communications path to the City's Civic Center office main computing site using two of the 12 fiber strands for an increase of 50 times. Staff no longer experience communications delayed computer responses, removing frustration and increasing productivity. Conduit was also installed on segments of North MLK Jr. Drive with this project, in anticipation of linking the Civic Center and the Municipal Services Center when the opportunity arises. A second gigabit communications path was added between the two sites utilizing two more of the 12 strand installed fiber for less than $700.This path is being used to back up the City's central data stores. Weekly offsite back-ups are now daily and eliminated the need to physically transport the backed up data.