2020-090 McAllen Public WiFi Program OverviewDate: October 16, 2020 Report No. 2020-090
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
McAllen, Texas Public WiFi Program Overview
BACKGROUND:
On October 20, 2020, the City Council is scheduled to discuss municipal broadband service model
as a Work Session Item during the City Council Meeting. While the agenda will specifically
discuss three broadband models, Private Providers, Public-Private Partnerships, and Municipal
Broadband, that have been previously discussed, staff would like to introduce the City Council to
another service model that has been deployed recently in the City of McAllen, TX (population
143,433).
This year, the City of McAllen (City), in partnership with McAllen ISD (District), launched a free
WiFi internet program that has been in development for over five years. For this program, the City
spent approximately $2.4 million to install over 60 miles of high-speed fiber optic cable to water
towers, install antennas on top of the water towers and attached WiFi nodes to 1,000 luminaire
light poles in low income neighborhoods that connect back to antennas placed on top of water
towers to supply the internet connection. These nodes are used to beam a WiFi signal that reaches
approximately 600-feet. From there, residents can purchase an “amplifier” to boost the signal in
their residences if desired, according to an article found in The Monitor. According to a press
release (Attachment 1), McAllen ISD made the necessary equipment available to connect to the
fiber optic lines and make the connection to the WiFi service possible and provides current
download speeds per device of 15mbps, which falls below the FCC’s definition for high-speed
internet. Another article from The Monitor discusses that the School Board has also recently
approved Memorandums of Understanding for the County to construct towers at two of their
elementary schools to serve the surrounding area with WiFi, with more towers planned in the
future.
The initial capital outlay to get the project installed came from the CARES Act. Going forward, to
keep the system sustainable, all operational and maintenance costs are coming out of the City’s
general fund. This program has been in development for nearly five years, but the closing of in-
person schooling, however, amplified the need for internet access to students, and the City and
District accelerated deployment this spring. The City hopes that the initial phase of the WiFi
program can service nearly 7,000 students in the south end of the district, and another 2,500
students in the north. McAllen ISD is expected to distribute another 10,000 WiFi hotspots to fill
in the gap for students without WiFi that do not have access to the City’s WiFi system. At any
given point, there are approximately 1,300 concurrent devices connected at a given time. The
program is not intended to provide WiFi service for the entire city (62 sq. miles), but rather to
provide service for specific underserved neighborhoods. The map below shows the distribution of
the nodes; please note that the green dots represent the access points that are currently online, and
the red dots represent those that are pending.
Date: October 16, 2020 Report No. 2020-090
Additional information about the program can be found in The Monitor articles by visiting:
• September 3, 2020: City Gauging Launch of Long-Awaited WiFi Access
• September 21, 2020: Recent WiFi Projects Connect Nearly 10,000 McAllen Students
DISCUSSION:
As mentioned above, the focus of the October 20, 2020 Work Session is to discuss the Private
Provider, Public-Private Partnership, and Municipal Broadband models that have been outlined in
previous Informal Staff Reports. The City of Denton does provide free public WiFi service in the
downtown area and municipal buildings, however not on the scale of the program in McAllen.
If the City Council would like to explore a potential Public WiFi using the McAllen model, staff
recommends developing a Request for Qualifications for a similar Feasibility Study as outlined in
the presentation for the Public-Private Partnership and Municipal Broadband models. This study
would be used to determine existing infrastructure, demand assessment, legal considerations,
capital cost assessment, and a preliminary design concept.
STAFF CONTACT:
Stuart Birdseye
Assistant to the City Manager
Stuart.Birdseye@cityofdenton.com
940-349-8009
REQUESTOR:
Staff Initiated
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS
Date: October 16, 2020 Report No. 2020-090
City Manager’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, DME
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT:
2 hours
ATTACHMENTS
1. McAllen Press Release