LA Mayor James Hahn (with former Soviet President Gorbachev)-------- Tropos 5110 Outdoor Wi-Fi Cell

Jim Hahn is running for re-election as Mayor of the second-largest city in the United States, the City of Los Angeles, and he wants to look as good as possible to the residents of his city by the time of the March 8, 2005, municipal election and, of course, he wants what's best for the people of Los Angeles.

Mayor Hahn took steps this week to enhance his image as a high-tech candidate and as an effective and successful mayor by announcing that he intends to expedite the leasing of "the city's 120,000 streetlights, 4,500 traffic signals and 900 buildings" as sites for wireless transceivers. Calling this "the largest proposed lease [of wireless transceivers] in the country" and something that "would create fixed revenues that could exceed one million dollars," Mayor Hahn issued this press release, on February 1, 2005:

"MAYOR HAHN ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ELIMINATE CELL PHONE "DEAD ZONES"

"Hollywood * Mayor Jim Hahn today unveiled an initiative aimed to greatly enhance technology in the City of Los Angeles by eliminating all cellular 'dead spots,' providing wireless internet access citywide, and removing unsightly cellular towers. 

"'Current technology has made it simple for us to mount antennas the size of a pen onto our city streetlights, traffic signals, and buildings,' said Mayor Hahn.  'Last week I asked communications companies, high technology businesses, entrepreneurs, and others to develop a plan to lease our assets and turn light poles into working cell towers put an end to frustrating dropped calls and dead cell phone areas.' 

"Last week Mayor Hahn put out a Request for Information (RFI) to ask the experts how the City of Los Angeles can partner with the private sector to leverage city infrastructure to achieve the most comprehensive telecommunications partnership between a city and the private sector in the nation. 

"Mayor Hahn's proposal to lease the city's 120,000 streetlights, 4,500 traffic signals and 900 buildings * the largest proposed lease in the country * would create fixed revenues that could exceed one million dollars.  Mayor Hahn says that he will dedicate a portion of the revenues to install lights along dark streets in neighborhoods that currently don't have them and set aside a portion for much needed technological improvements and upgrades for the LAPD and LAFD's communications systems that will better equip them to respond to emergencies. 

"'This plan represents a significant and visionary policy that will positively impact the lives of every Los Angeles resident by making them not just less irritable, but a whole lot safer too,' said Mayor Hahn.  'And someday soon, when you ask "Can you hear me now?" * the answer will always be "YES!"'

"'No one networks like Angelenos. We're busy, we're tech-savvy, and we want our information to come to us,' said Councilmember Eric Garcetti. 'This proposal lays the groundwork for connectivity from downtown to the beach.'

"Last year, Mayor Hahn created a Broadband Executive Panel -- a special panel of telecommunications experts to help extend fast and easy wireless Internet access to every Los Angeles resident.  The panel helped examine what role the City of Los Angeles could play in ensuring that these technologies are available to all residents, and how Wi-Fi technologies can be used to retain and attract businesses to Los Angeles.  Wi-Fi service is currently available at several City of Los Angeles facilities, including Los Angeles International Airport, the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Braude Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys."

To listen to exclusive Unwired LA audio interviews with members of Mayor Hahn's Broadband Executive Panel (BEP), click on the names of the members:

Rich Grimes, EVP at Wireless Capital Partners

Todd Richmond, Managing Director of the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California (USC)

Rajit Gadh, Director of the Wireless Internet for Mobile Enterprise Consortium (WINMEC) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Morley Winograd, executive director of the Center for Telecom Management at the Marshall School of Business at USC and the chair of the Executive Broadband Panel

Thera Bradshaw, general manager of the City of Los Angeles' Information Technology Agency (ITA)

Doane Liu, who, while not a member of the BEP, is the Deputy Mayor for Operations of the City of Los Angeles, and the lead administrator for this panel in the office of Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn

Most of these interviews can also be accessed by way of the LAVoice.org web site, in an article entitled Geek Peek – Eavesdropping on L.A.'s Wireless Brain Trust.

To view a map showing the location of the street light sites to possibly be leased out by the City of Los Angeles for telecommunication purposes, click here.

To access the City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency (ITA) Request for Information "Leasing of City Assets for Telecommunication Purposes," issued on January 21, 2005, click here.

To access the City of Los Angeles "Addendum to Request for Information—Leasing of City Assets for Telecommunication Purposes" extending the deadline for submitting questions about this RFI from February 2, 2005, to February 11, 2005, click here.

To watch and listen to this reporter advocating for a ubiquitous, universal deployment of broadband Internet access throughout the San Fernando Valley as a mayoral candidate during the 2002 Los Angeles Secession Election, click here.