Attachment 3 to August 22, 2005 Communications Committee Minutes

Technology Report                                                                    August 22, 2005

1. Discussion between Walter Smithe and Barbara Kemp began the week after the Communications Committee initial meeting, based on the Draft  August 9 meeting minutes: 
 
“Discussion ensued which resulted in grouping the efforts into five (5) Projects in with the Newsletter and Technical issues being of equal importance once Walter Smithe provided insight in the Village Board’s sense of urgency.  Barbara agreed to begin working the Technical issues with Walter Smithe immediately.  Information will be shared at the next meeting unless there is a need to communicate sooner with the team.
 
· Monthly Newsletter to Residents
· Web “Look and Feel”
· Town Hall and Public Events
· External Village Relationship Communications
· Technical Services in the Community”
 
2. Technology:  Cellular Priority - When asking for history on the Village’s previous efforts in the Cellular challenges, two problems were identified:
 
· E 911Call Completion to the Barrington Hills Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)
· Overall perception of poor cellular phone call quality within the Village boundaries from residents and those who use the roads to pass through the Village daily
 
Bob Kosin and Chief Frederick Clauser have been primarily responsible for these matters and we need to start with the correct baseline.
 
3. Bob Abboud sent via email ideas about how to proceed.  
 
· Public Perceptions of Service - RF Mapping 

Cell phone companies, like most utility type functions tend to respond reactively to squeaky wheels.  Particularly those that call into question the company line.  The cell phone companies all claim great coverage and call quality.  This is an underlying component of their marketing.  My guess is that if a Village covering 30 square miles in the Chicago area came up with a RF/Cell coverage map showing how poor the coverage was over such a large area, this would most likely get their attention.  You might consider having a map of the Village done so we have the definitive technical analysis rather than just the anecdotal information.
 
· Get a Cellular Expert

You might consider finding a resident cellular who is willing to volunteer a few hours to this project.  I might suggest contacting Kevin Colosia (Kevin.Colosia@RGALabs.com - (847) 842-9500) and see if he is interested in helping the project.  Kevin is an ex-Motorola big wig and knows pretty much everything there is to know about cellular and satellite technologies at the data packet / RF level.  He has done a ton of work in the cell town design / installation arena.  
 
· Get the Chairman's Attention

Once we have the data from the items above, we might consider finding a resident of the Village who can bend the ears of the senior management of the target companies.  Use the call quality / RF map as the lever to "introduce risk" for them in the sense that they need to deal with us and fix the problem, or risk having us turn this into a Chicagoland issue that starts showing up on Channel 5 every night. 
 
4. Barbara Kemp has a CD from SuperComm 2005 (free) from the FCC and has the Mapping information, the wireless spectrum, and licensed users. The CD may provide a baseline for further research on coverage and the names and reach information for everyone with spectrum within the Barrington Hills’ Village Latitude and Longitude.
 
5. Kevin Colosia has a Cellular Technology and Telecom background and is willing to support the committee activities if we choose to use his assistance.
 
6. In summary, the Technology issues are numerous and there is a sense of urgency within the Village to make this a high priority.  I request concurrence from the Communications Committee to for a task force to meet ASAP to:
 
· Learn more about the History and document the priorities
· Investigate alternatives and recommendations for a plan of action
· Use a small team approach including knowledgeable villagers and staff to get started
 
Those individuals should include at a minimum: 
· Walter Smithe              Sponsor
· Chief Clauser               911
· Bob Kosin                   Public Safety Administration
· Kevin Colosia               Technical Expertise
· Barbara Kemp              Communications Team Liaison
 
        Barbara Kemp
 
Note:  Recommendation tabled August 22, 2005 until after initial Newsletter invites residents to participate.