State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Seattle RFI Seeks Ideas for Providing Public Wi-Fi

Government Technology: The city of Seattle is officially inviting the private sector to bid on providing Wi-Fi to more citizens and public spaces, especially low-income areas. The hope, city officials say, is that a respondent will provide a suggestion for using new innovations, particularly 5G wireless technology, to help local government bring Internet access to the roughly 15 percent of Seattle residents who still lack it.

The city's RFI, released Jan. 30, marks the latest move in a multi-year push by Seattle to ensure broadband is available in every household. Private-sector involvement in this effort is not unprecedented, as past initiatives have been powered by grants from Google, and have relied on collaboration with telecommunications giants Comcast and CenturyLink. Ultimately this RFI is an exploratory effort, said Seattle Chief Technology Officer Michael Mattmiller, and it's aimed at soliciting fresh ideas for bolstering public Wi-Fi access, particularly in areas where residents lack connectivity. Seattle is also looking for partners to establish a smart city ecosystem, which uses multiple technologies to manage municipal information systems.

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