Library Wi-Fi Provision

The request was successful.

Dear IT Department/Library Department
It is with some regret that I find myself having to request this information but having recently visited the Civic Centre at Enfield I have some concerns with regard to the strategy and spending taking place around the provision of Wi-Fi in public libraries.

Whilst waiting in the lift lobby I overheard some members of staff discussing the library Wi-Fi infrastructure and being something of a technical expert I could not for the life of me understand the strategy that was being discussed as it involved at least two different Wi-Fi suppliers and the purchase of separate wireless access points.

Not knowing the full technical architecture of the Councils infrastructure I found the fact that two suppliers would be required as well as separate access points somewhat strange as I am sure that both public and staff access can be run over the same infrastructure with secure tunnelling being put in place to separate the traffic and allow QoS control if applicable in these circumstances.To me it would seem that the Council is wasting money and that multiple SSIDs be used across one infrastructure as all of the access points are likely to be joined at the ISP network cabling point eventually unless further money is being wasted by having two network cables entering each of the premises.

As such can the IT or Library service provide the following information:
1. What suppliers are being used to provide:
a) staff wi-fi access
b) guest wi-fi access
c) public wi-fi access
(For this question I am making an assumption that the SSIDs at the Civic Centre will be replicated in the Council libraries and new "public" SSID will be created by one of the suppliers)
2. Will the wi-fi access points be connected to one incoming ISP network cable?
a) If the answer is no - please also provide the cost of provision of two of the ISP network provisioned cables as well as the on-going costs.
3. If as I have suggested there are two suppliers being used what is the rationale behind the decision and has the ability for each company to provide service been compare to see if only supplier is capable of providing a service and as such lower overall cost in terms of both implementation and on-going support.
4. How much money is being spent on Wi-Fi infrastructure across the Councils libraries.If multiple suppliers are being used please provide a breakdown of costs for each supplier.
5. How many Wi-Fi access points will be provisioned and has possible interference been the types of Wi-Fi access points been considered and how will this be overcome.
6. Will the provision of Wi-Fi across the Boroughs libraries be placed on hold now that the future of numerous libraries are being called into question as it would seem that investment in such infrastructure would be a major waste of tax payers money.

For each of the questions, where applicable I would like costs broken down on a library by library basis for all of the Councils libraries.

With thanks and in anticipation,

William Gates (esq)

An account was created automatically for you, but you can't log in until your password has been set.

Your username is: [FOI #240107 email]
Your registered email address is: [FOI #240107 email]

Click the following link to continue to a page where you can enter your new password.
http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...

Please note that this link will expire 24 hours from the time that it was sent.

[1]Enfield Logo

 
 Response
Dear Sir / Madam

We acknowledge your request for information received on 19/11/2014 05.56
PM

Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate team or service holding
the information and that team will respond to your request and contact you
where required.

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

Yours Sincerely
Enfield Council

Dear Sir / Madam

We acknowledge your request for information received on 19/11/2014 05.56
PM

Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate team or service holding
the information and that team will respond to your request and contact you
where required.

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

Yours Sincerely
Enfield Council

Thank you for your question. Please take a look at these Answers from our
knowledge base that might answer your question.
The following answers might help you immediately. (Answers open in a
separate window.)
Answer Link: [2]Library Fees and Charges
Answer Link: [3]Library Online Service - How do I get a PIN number to use
Library Online Services?
Answer Link: [4]Library Special Needs - What range of services /
facilities are available?
Answer Link: [5]Library Computers / Internet Access - Hire and Printing
Costs?
Answer Link: [6]Am I able to request a book from the reserves for
collection at another library?

If no Answers are shown this means we do not currently have any
information regarding this subject matter within our knowledge base.
 Discussion Thread
 Customer By Email (William Gates) 19/11/2014 05.56 PM
Dear IT Department/Library Department
It is with some regret that I find myself having to request this
information but having recently visited the Civic Centre at Enfield I have
some concerns with regard to the strategy and spending taking place around
the provision of Wi-Fi in public libraries.

Whilst waiting in the lift lobby I overheard some members of staff
discussing the library Wi-Fi infrastructure and being something of a
technical expert I could not for the life of me understand the strategy
that was being discussed as it involved at least two different Wi-Fi
suppliers and the purchase of separate wireless access points.

Not knowing the full technical architecture of the Councils infrastructure
I found the fact that two suppliers would be required as well as separate
access points somewhat strange as I am sure that both public and staff
access can be run over the same infrastructure with secure tunnelling
being put in place to separate the traffic and allow QoS control if
applicable in these circumstances.To me it would seem that the Council is
wasting money and that multiple SSIDs be used across one infrastructure as
all of the access points are likely to be joined at the ISP network
cabling point eventually unless further money is being wasted by having
two network cables entering each of the premises.

As such can the IT or Library service provide the following information:
1. What suppliers are being used to provide:
a) staff wi-fi access
b) guest wi-fi access
c) public wi-fi access
(For this question I am making an assumption that the SSIDs at the Civic
Centre will be replicated in the Council libraries and new "public" SSID
will be created by one of the suppliers)
2. Will the wi-fi access points be connected to one incoming ISP network
cable?
a) If the answer is no - please also provide the cost of provision of two
of the ISP network provisioned cables as well as the on-going costs.
3. If as I have suggested there are two suppliers being used what is the
rationale behind the decision and has the ability for each company to
provide service been compare to see if only supplier is capable of
providing a service and as such lower overall cost in terms of both
implementation and on-going support.
4. How much money is being spent on Wi-Fi infrastructure across the
Councils libraries.If multiple suppliers are being used please provide a
breakdown of costs for each supplier.
5. How many Wi-Fi access points will be provisioned and has possible
interference been the types of Wi-Fi access points been considered and how
will this be overcome.
6. Will the provision of Wi-Fi across the Boroughs libraries be placed on
hold now that the future of numerous libraries are being called into
question as it would seem that investment in such infrastructure would be
a major waste of tax payers money.

For each of the questions, where applicable I would like costs broken down
on a library by library basis for all of the Councils libraries.

With thanks and in anticipation,

William Gates (esq)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[7][FOI #240107 email]

Is [8][Enfield Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Enfield Council? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[10]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 Question Reference No141119-000048
Subject :  Children,Teenagers & Education
Subject Level 2:  Libraries
Date Created:  19/11/2014 05.56 PM
Last Updated:  19/11/2014 05.56 PM
Status:  Correspondence team
 

[---001:004888:40209---]

References

Visible links
2. http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...
3. http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...
4. http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...
5. http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...
6. http://enfield-council.custhelp.com/app/...
7. mailto:[FOI #240107 email]
8. mailto:[Enfield Council request email]
9. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
10. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

Rajiv Rathod, Enfield Council

Classification: PROTECT

Dear Mr Gates

 

Please find the below information in response to your Freedom of
Information request.

 

The Council use Aruba Networks as its corporate Wi-Fi supplier. This is
installed in most of the large Council sites and a project is currently
underway to determine which other sites would benefit from Wi-Fi. We have
2 SSIDs on most sites, a corporate network which staff can connect to
automatically provided they have the correct certificate on their laptop,
and a guest network available for visitors to the site(s) on application
to the reception (or administrator) for an ID and password.

 

In the past ad hoc installations of systems have been completed in order
to provide online and Wi-Fi services to the staff and public. Where Wi-Fi
has been installed it has usually been a specific public service from
Insight Media with an ADSL connection to the Internet. One or two sites
have had the corporate system installed (e.g Enfield Town) when they were
refurbished.

 

In future we are planning to use Insight Media to provide public access
Wi-Fi services in our libraries. This is a different system to the
corporate Wi-Fi but it is being used because it is specifically designed
to integrate with our library circulation system and will allow members of
the public to use their library cards to log on to the public Wi-Fi and
for our library staff to monitor usage.

 

As the Council is increasingly intending to use its buildings and
libraries as multiple service access points it has been decided to also
install our Aruba corporate Wi-Fi in the office areas and enquiry areas of
the libraries. This will allow peripatetic staff to set up their laptop in
the libraries to respond to service requirements, and for staff in general
to use laptops in the libraries without requiring a network point.

 

Both the Aruba and the Insight Media W-Fi will be routed over the Enfield
corporate network. The Aruba corporate SSID will connect directly onto the
staff network (with appropriate firewall security), the Aruba guest SSID
and the Insight Media Wi-Fi will be securely routed to one of our
corporate Internet links. This will allow us to decommission a number of
ADSL links which have been set up over the years to provide Internet
access in the libraries.

 

To clarify the rationale behind this decision; the Insight Media Wi-Fi
will be in the public areas of the libraries and will provide an
integrated service for the public to access Wi-Fi using their existing
library ID and they will be routed onto the Internet for web, email, and
other services. The Aruba Wi-Fi in the libraries is for staff use to
connect to our corporate network (without it they would need to use the
Insight Media access, go out onto the Internet then log back in remotely
to the LBE network). Guest access will also be available on the Aruba
Wi-Fi for visitors to conferences and meetings, who are not members of
Enfield Libraries; it would be time consuming and difficult to create the
required access for Library users on Aruba as it does not readily
integrate with the library systems, it also does not provide the
monitoring information that we can obtain from Insight Media.

 

For the overall Wi-Fi installation in Libraries, the infrastructure has
been installed over a number of years and the Aruba costs are part of the
overall corporate charge. The cost of installing Insight Media Wi-Fi is
about £4,500 per site and the annual support cost is about £700 per site
(excluding cabinet and cabling costs). We have 3 Libraries where Insight
Media is not installed and we are planning to put it in. The cost of the
Aruba Wi-Fi installation is just the cost of the access points and network
engineer time. The access points are about £500-700 each depending on the
model used, plus about £160 for licences – the number required will depend
on the area we want covered and that is to be finalised.

 

The Council currently has 15 libraries -  the annual support cost for the
Infinity Media public Wi-Fi will be approximate £10,500. The specific
Aruba library support costs will be for the annual licences fee £255 for
32 points. Many of the libraries are small so we may require 64-92 points
at an annual support cost of £510-£765. The Aruba costs exclude the
central controller which manages the corporate Wi-Fi.

 

We are aware that there may be interference between the two Wi-Fi networks
but this can be managed by selecting the channel used by each system. This
is a method we have used in buildings where the Council have tenants using
their own Wi-Fi e.g Enfield Business Centre.

 

The recent review of the libraries network looked at the whole service
with a view to increasing the network speed, replacing aging equipment,
and making the whole system compliant with modern security standards so
that the sites can be used for library and wider Council services.
Nevertheless the upgrade will have to receive final approval prior to it
going ahead and at that point the relevant Director will have the
opportunity to identify any work which is not required.

 

Regards

 

Rajiv Rathod
ICT Supplier Manager

Enfield IT
London Borough of Enfield
Silver Street
Enfield
EN1 3XA
Disclaimer
This e-mail and any attachments are for the intended
addressee(s) only and may contain confidential and/or
privileged material. If you are not a named addressee, do
not use, retain or disclose such information.
Enfield IT is a service mark of London Borough of Enfield
and Serco Ltd.
This email is not guaranteed to be free from viruses and
does not bind Serco or London Borough of Enfield in any
contract or obligation.
Serco Ltd. is registered in England and Wales. No:
242246, with registered Office: Serco House,16 Bartley
Wood Business Park, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9UY United
Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

-------------------

 

Dear Sir / Madam

 

 

 

 

We acknowledge your request for information received on 19/11/2014 05.56
PM

 

 

 

 

Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate team or service holding
the information and that team will respond to your request and contact you
where required.

 

 

 

 

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

 

 

 

 

Yours Sincerely

 

 

Enfield Council

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Sir / Madam

 

 

 

 

We acknowledge your request for information received on 19/11/2014 05.56
PM

 

 

 

 

Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate team or service holding
the information and that team will respond to your request and contact you
where required.

 

 

 

 

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

 

 

 

 

Yours Sincerely

 

 

Enfield Council

 

 

 

Thank you for your question. Please take a look at these Answers from our
knowledge base that might answer your question.

 

The following answers might help you immediately. (Answers open in a
separate window.)

Answer Link: Library Fees and Charges

Answer Link: Library Online Service - How do I get a PIN number to use
Library Online Services?

Answer Link: Library Special Needs - What range of services / facilities
are available?

Answer Link: Library Computers / Internet Access - Hire and Printing
Costs?

Answer Link: Am I able to request a book from the reserves for collection
at another library?

 

 

 

If no Answers are shown this means we do not currently have any
information regarding this subject matter within our knowledge base.

 

Dear IT Department/Library Department

It is with some regret that I find myself having to request this
information but having recently visited the Civic Centre at Enfield I have
some concerns with regard to the strategy and spending taking place around
the provision of Wi-Fi in public libraries.

 

Whilst waiting in the lift lobby I overheard some members of staff
discussing the library Wi-Fi infrastructure and  being something of a
technical expert I could not for the life of me understand the strategy
that was being discussed as it involved at least two different Wi-Fi
suppliers and the purchase of separate wireless access points.

 

Not knowing the full technical architecture of the Councils infrastructure
I found the fact that two suppliers would be required as well as separate
access points  somewhat strange as I am sure that both public and staff
access can be run over the same infrastructure with secure tunnelling
being put in place to separate the traffic and allow QoS control if
applicable in these circumstances.To me it would seem that the Council is
wasting money and that multiple SSIDs be used across one infrastructure as
all of the access points are likely to be joined at the ISP network
cabling point eventually unless further money is being wasted by having
two network cables entering each of the premises.

 

As such can the IT or Library service provide the following information:

1. What suppliers are being used to provide:

a) staff wi-fi access

b) guest wi-fi access

c) public wi-fi access

(For this question I am making an assumption that the SSIDs at the Civic
Centre will be replicated in the Council libraries and new "public" SSID
will be created by one of the suppliers)

2. Will the wi-fi access points be connected to one incoming ISP network
cable?

a) If the answer is no - please also provide the cost of provision of two 
of the ISP network provisioned cables as well as the on-going costs.

3. If as I have suggested there are two suppliers being used what is the
rationale behind the decision and has the ability for each company to
provide service been compare to see if  only supplier is capable of
providing a service and as such lower overall cost in terms of both
implementation and on-going support.

4. How much money is being spent on Wi-Fi infrastructure across the
Councils libraries.If multiple suppliers are being used please provide a
breakdown of costs for each supplier.

5. How many Wi-Fi access points will be provisioned and has possible
interference been the types of Wi-Fi access points been considered and how
will this be overcome.

6. Will the provision of Wi-Fi across the Boroughs libraries be placed on
hold now that the future of numerous libraries are being called into
question as it would seem that investment in such infrastructure would be
a major waste of tax payers money.

 

For each of the questions, where applicable I would like costs broken down
on a library by library basis for all of the Councils libraries.

 

With thanks and in anticipation,

 

William Gates (esq)

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[1][FOI #240107 email]

 

Is [2][Enfield Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Enfield Council? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[3]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[4]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

Classification: PROTECT

[5]Facebook[6]Follow us on Facebook    [7]Twitter[8]Twitter   
[9]Enfield[10]http://www.enfield.gov.uk       [11]Budget Simulator

show quoted sections

This email has been scanned for viruses but we cannot guarantee that it
will be free of viruses or malware. The recipient should perform their own
virus checks.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #240107 email]
2. mailto:[Enfield Council request email]
3. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
5. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Enfield-C...
6. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Enfield-C...
7. https://twitter.com/EnfieldCouncil
8. https://twitter.com/EnfieldCouncil
9. http://www.enfield.gov.uk/
10. http://www.enfield.gov.uk/
11. https://yourenfieldyoursay.budgetsimulat...