Providing free Wi-Fi to ensure a means of communication in the event of disaster

Transcription

1 Yamanashi Prefecture case study Providing free Wi-Fi to ensure a means of communication in the event of disaster During ordinary times, it can be used for tourism and to provide administrative information Customer name Yamanashi Prefecture Industry Government Location Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan Population 829,884 Number of households 333,262 (as of 10/1/2016)

2 Challenges Ensuring communication channels for prefectural residents and tourists in the event of disasters Providing free Wi-Fi service to government agencies Solution Installation covers a total of 43 locations in the prefecture, including the prefectural office, where travelers who experience difficulty returning home after disasters can be housed temporarily, prefectural facilities designated as evacuation shelters (24 educational facilities, such as prefectural high schools, and 7 other facilities, including local government offices), 4 museums and similar facilities, and 7 city parks High-performance Cisco products with signal coverage at the installation site that exceeds the specifications Benefits and future plans Complete introduction at prefectural facilities where the need is greatest Convenient, free Wi-Fi service that has broad signal coverage and is easy to use Use of these Wi-Fi services for educational purposes at schools is anticipated In the event of disasters, ensuring a means of communication for prefectural residents and tourists was an issue. Following the completion of the construction of the base for this development project, we anticipate that this free Wi-Fi will also be used during ordinary times for tourism and for educational purposes at educational facilities. Yukiko Irikura Deputy Director of the Yamanashi Prefecture General Affairs Department, Information Policy Division

3 In Yamanashi Prefecture, a free public wireless LAN environment was introduced, using Cisco wireless LAN solutions, at facilities that have been designated as evacuation shelters, including prefectural facilities and schools. This environment will help ensure a means of communication for prefectural residents in the event of a disaster. Operation began on March 29, Part of an initiative to promote regional vitalization, the environment will also provide tourism and administrative information and can be used in education. Challenges The Yamanashi Free Wi-Fi Project is the first project of its kind to be conducted in Japan, thanks to cooperation between industry, the government, and the private sector. It is a cooperative project conducted between Yamanashi Prefecture, the Yamanashi Tourism Organization, and the private sector, and it aims to provide more convenient sightseeing through provision of free Wi-Fi hotspots that can be used by tourists. Tourism has been increasing yearly in the prefecture. The project also addresses the need to provide a means of communication for prefectural residents in the event of a disaster. The prefecture began investigating ways to meet this need in 2015, and in 2016 the development project moved forward. Yukiko Irikura, the deputy director of the Yamanashi Policy Division, had the following to say: In the Yamanashi Free Wi-Fi Project in the past, the use of this Wi-Fi expanded to tourist facilities and general stores for the purpose of tourism. But on the other hand, the installation of Wi-Fi in public facilities was an issue. Furthermore, we investigated whether or not it would be justifiable to implement this across the entire prefecture. However, we concluded that, from the perspective of disaster prevention, ensuring a means of communication for prefectural residents in the event of disasters is naturally critical. At the prefectural office, there were many things we did not know about wireless LANs, so we made progress in the design and the investigations concerning the required technology and equipment, the locations for the equipment, and, of course, the cost. This was all done while collecting information from Cisco and from the local information communications vendors that helped with the installation of our in-house network. Solution The project covers a total of 43 locations in the prefecture, including the prefectural office, facilities designated as evacuation shelters by the municipality (24 educational facilities, such as prefectural high schools, and 7 local government facilities) and facilities that accommodate a large number of tourists, including 4 museums and similar facilities and 7 city parks, such as Kose Sports Park. To establish where to install devices at locations that accommodate a large number of users, such as gymnasiums and Kose Sports Park, which is also the home field of the J. League Ventforet Kofu, prefecture personnel met with the facility operators and received advice from Cisco and the construction vendors. Takayuki Mizukami, a director of the Yamanashi Policy Division, had the following to say: Regarding the signal coverage in the installation, the differences between our estimates in the drawings and at the installation locations drew our attention. We adjusted the installation locations while measuring the signal status at the installation locations. However, the signal coverage was much broader than the catalog specifications, so we fully realized the high performance of these Cisco products. Osamu Kubokawa, the chief examiner of the Yamanashi Policy Division, had the following to say regarding his expectations of the base: Just this March, the Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Division started the Yamanashi Prefecture General Affairs Disaster Prevention Information System. We expect that this system will also be used as a platform Experiencing the high performance of Cisco products with signal coverage at the installation site that exceeds the specifications

4 Case study

5 for information transmission and collection to acquire the statuses of various points, such as item shortages and the number of people at evacuations shelters. In addition, I think being able to increase the effects of information provision in a timely and appropriate manner is great, as was the timing of these installations. Benefits and future plans To let visitors know that a location is a Yamanashi Prefecture free Wi-Fi spot, stickers have been created and affixed near these facilities, and notifications were provided in prefectural public information programs. Yukiko Irikura had the following to say regarding the effects: All of the installations were completed at the facilities where the planning was performed within the prefectural office in advance. The number of users has been steadily increasing every month, so we feel this service is widely known. Also, we have implemented a system that switches from a mode that requires user authentication during ordinary times to a mode that does not require authentication, in order to make the service easier to use in the event of disasters. Fortunately, we have not had any major disasters since then, so the latter mode has not been used, but we performed an operations test on September 1st, Disaster Prevention Day. We are relived that we were able to switch modes more smoothly than expected, without needing a lot of time. Products and services Cisco Aironet 2700 Series Access Point Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Access Point Cisco Aironet indoor wallmounted and outdoor antennas Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controllers Cisco Prime Infrastructure Cisco Mobility Services Engine (MSE) Cisco Catalyst 3850 and 3560-CX Series Switches Tomoya Yanagisawa, a director of the Yamanashi Prefecture General Affairs Department, Information Policy Division, had the following to say: Some schools have stated they would like to use this Wi-Fi in the field of education during ordinary times, which we will look into. The system does not provide services to ordinary prefectural residents or to students during ordinary times, but at schools we are planning to provide the service for student use in classrooms by providing a separate SSID. Other detailed information For details on Wireless and Mobility please see Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R) 18/01