The Rotherham Connected Community Project Pilot:
Regional, National & International Perspective

Colin Smythe (Dunelm Services Limited)
3^rd May, 2005

2006 © Dunelm Services Limited

Summary

The Rotherham Connected Community Project is the extension of the Schools and College Rotherham Grid for Learning network to provide a community-wide learning service. This new learning service is based upon a core ‘Learning Portal’, a managed network access service (through a Virtual Internet Service Provider) and the extended Rotherham Grid for Learning network infrastructure (the extension is based upon a wireless networking). While there are many similar network infrastructure projects regionally, nationally and internationally, very few projects are focused on the provision of a ‘Digital Infrastructure’ on which a suite of complementary services can be supplied on a community-wide basis. There are many instances of Community Grid for Learning programmes providing e-learning on a community-wide basis and some examples of schools using videoconferencing with schools in other countries. It is clear that Rotherham, within South Yorkshire, has a lead in terms of developing its strategy. However, there are many examples of other Boroughs developing similar initiatives to that of the Rotherham Connected Community Project. Few appear to have the degree of service integration being attempted within Rotherham, but, in terms of implementation Rotherham is behind the leading Boroughs and so an aggressive timeline for the Pilot must be established.

1             Introduction

The Rotherham Metropolitan Council Borough (RMBC), through the Rotherham Learning Partnership, has identified that broadening the community actively connected to learning through Information & Communications Technology (ICT) is one of its strategic aims. One of the objectives for this strategy is to extend the network infrastructure (where necessary) and service capability of the Rotherham Grid for Learning (RGfL) to deliver those services into the broader community. The RGfL, supported by Rotherham Brought Together (RBT), is a schools-oriented infrastructure that provides Internet connectivity and corresponding services to all of the schools under the responsibility of RMBC. This new community wide approach is called the Rotherham Connected Community Project (RCCP). The emphasis is on the provision of an integrated set of learning-oriented services that can be made available over the current and future network infrastructure. This can be summarised as the provision of the learning services over a digital infrastructure; the digital infrastructure consists of the network plus the core servers, data storage and common access services. The added advantage of this approach is that the same Digital Infrastructure can be used to support other services e.g. e-Government.

There are many potential risks involved in extending the RGfL and so it is sensible to evaluate a small-scale Pilot. An initial feasibility study was undertaken to evaluate the form that a Pilot would take for trialling the use of the RGfL for the benefit of the broader community [Feasibility, 04]. Through an extensive consultation process the feasibility study identified an initial set of sites and services that would be indicative of those wanted by a community-wide approach. The Pilot is designed to evaluate the ease by which the RGfL can be extended to support these services and to confirm the need for, and the suitability of, those services.

The aim of this paper is to provide the context for RCCP in terms of other similar initiatives and proposals regionally, nationally and internationally. This context is then used to summarise the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the RCCP. The rest of this paper presents a description of the network and service architecture for the RCCP, its community outreach and shows how it will be based upon the RGfL. This is followed by a description of the RCCP Pilot that will be used to evaluate various aspects of the proposed RCCP architecture. An analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Pilot is then made. Finally, the conclusions are drawn together to show that the RCCP and its Pilot will be used to enable RMBC to provide a very advanced service-oriented community-wide learning infrastructure.

2             RCCP Architecture

The RCCP architecture is based upon the current RGfL. A schematic representation of the current RGfL architecture is shown in Figure 1. The RGfL is the backbone network that provides links to Schools and Colleges within the RMBC area. At the heart of the RGfL is the ‘Server Farm’ where all of the core services are housed e.g. email, authentication, content, etc. Direct access to the network is available to the learners and teachers. The e-SY.info portal is an advanced learning portal that provides a wide range of learning materials and tools. Access to the e-SY.info portal is available via the public Internet link supplied from the RGfL.

Broader access to the RGfL is supported for Guardians and Governors. They must access the RGfL via their own Internet Service Provider (ISP). The RGfL provides appropriate access mechanisms to ensure that only authorised people can gain access to the RGfL services. Many different types of networks are used to enable this remote access e.g. dial-up, cable (via Telewest), satellite, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), etc. with the user paying for this service. The current constraints of this network are:

• The core network is limited to the schools (primary and secondary) and the colleges. This excludes the community and commercial sectors;
• Access to e-SY.info is via the public Internet and thus performance and availability varies depending on the load on the Internet itself;
• At present the capabilities of the RGfL are under utilised.

The work completed by the Rotherham Learning Partnership has confirmed that the RGfL can be extended to provide a wide range of services to the broader community and the commercial sector. The expansion of the RGfL to provide the new RCCP architecture is shown in Figure 2. The new features are the extension of the access network, the provision of the ‘RCCP Access’ network infrastructure and the rationalization of the Server Farm and the primary services e.g. the provision of the local learning portal.

Figure 1 The Rotherham Grid for Learning (RGfL) architecture.

Figure 2 The Rotherham Connected Community Project (RCCP) architecture.

These new features provide:

• Extension of the core network – the wire-based infrastructure is extended using a mixture of licensed and unlicensed wireless networks plus, when appropriate, satellite access. This allows the network to provide access at most centres of community activity and the commercial sector;
• Provision of the RCCP access network – the provision of a Virtual Internet Service Provider (VISP) allows a broader range of authorised users to access the RCCP through their own network access but without requiring a third party ISP. This will allow the RCCP to be their ISP while permitting direct access to the services supplied by the RCCP. This approach provides a managed network access service;
• Rationalization of the server farm and the learning services – the server farm is upgraded to be capable of supporting more services (including the streamed video for video-on-demand). The local ‘Learning Portal’ is hosted on the RGfL server farm. This portal will be linked to the e-SY.info but unlike e-SY.info it will be fully integrated with the RCCP common services e.g. single-sign-on, etc. Third party services can now be hosted along with the ‘RCCP-in-a-Box’ provision.

This infrastructure is co-ordinated using a common set of authentication, authorization and security services to provide a single-sign-on capability. This provides an integrated network service infrastructure, or ‘Digital Infrastructure’ upon which new services can be easily added and distributed.

3             RCCP Pilot

The RCCP Pilot is an opportunity to trial the underlying concepts of the RCCP in a low risk, controlled cost environment. The objectives of the Pilot are to:

• Trial the extension of the core RGfL using wireless network technology and to evaluate the problems of interoperability between the new technologies and the RGfL;
• Trial various service provisions for a representation of the stakeholders e.g. the Further Education Colleges, small/medium enterprises, community centres, etc.;
• Investigate some value-added collaborative services that could be used to support different sustainability models;
• Evaluate various sustainability models for the RCCP based upon the experiences gained by running the Pilot.

The Pilot is based upon the following approach:

• Ten Pilot sites have been selected to reflect the stakeholders, the different types of networking technology and the available services (Figure 3 shows how these sites are to be linked). The Pilot sites are CENT@Magna, Dinnington Community, e-Business Vision Centre, Hellaby Hall Hotel, Magna, MET(UK) Ltd, Morthyng Ltd, MusicFactory Ltd, Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and Thomas Rotherham College;
• Fifteen new wireless access points are to be installed around the Borough. These access points are a combination of BT Openzone Hotspots^TM and early versions of the RCCP-in-a-Box with significant user access subsidy. These new wireless hotspots are located to encourage broader adoption of wireless technology within the Borough e.g. at community centres;
• The core services to be supplied are point-to-point video-conferencing, streamed video and audio content, managed user access via a virtual ISP approach, virtual classroom and an experimental immersive environment. Baseline services such as web access, instant messaging, etc. will also been made available if required by the user community;
• The two value-added collaborative services to be evaluated are the ‘RCCP-in-a-Box’ and the ‘Learning Portal’ (this will be linked to the e-SY.info Portal).

Figure 3 The logical network and service layout for the RCCP Pilot.

The RCCP-in-a-Box service is based upon an RMBC branding of the BT Openzone Hotspots^TM product. The aim of the branding is to enable RMBC to provide some integrated network services using a flexible cost model. RCCP-in-a-box will have several classes of provision varying from a basic authenticated wireless access service (including authentication using a SmartCard) to the advanced file/print server version that will create a complete small/home office capability.

4             A Comparison with Similar Initiatives

4.1       An International Perspective

During the past decade many regions around the world have been developing their network infrastructure strategies and evaluating how these can benefit local communities. Initiatives such as those in Chicago [MetroChicago, 98] and California [CENIC, 04] have focused on the provision of community-wide broadband networks i.e. building the network infrastructure. In the late 1990s Microsoft and Toshiba instigated a number of projects under the banner of ‘Anywhere Anytime Learning (AAL)’. Part of the evaluation for AAL looked at the provision of lap-top computers for all of the students at as set of schools. The AAL concept is firmly established in other parts of the World (Australia and the USA) as well as within several other regions within the UK [AAL, 98]. In Washington State, the Gates Foundation is supporting a $230 million schools-based state-wide provision of Microsoft products and services. In other parts of the world, e.g. Brazil, there is growing interest in open source solutions to provide cheap or free alternatives.

More recently in Canada and the USA, significant interest has resulted in developing school and community based Access Grids. This is a new technology that combines very high-speed networks with distributed processing. This approach is referred to as the ‘Virtual Classroom’ and is particularly well suited to collaborative audio-visual projects e.g. [MusicGrid, 05]. Doncaster College is also undertaking Access Grid work with schools in New York and Florida.

4.2       A National Perspective

During the past five years the Government have supported the development of National Grid for Learning (NGfL) infrastructures throughout the UK [NGfLE, 05], [NGfLS, 05]. The bandwidth recommendation for this infrastructure is 8Mbps for each secondary school and 2Mbps for each primary. The equivalent bandwidths already supplied on the RGfL are 100Mbps and 10Mbps for the secondary and primary schools respectively. This capacity provides a far better service capability plus it enables the same infrastructure to be used to support the broader needs of the local community around each school. A closer examination of the larger NGfL projects such as the London Grid for Learning [LGfL, 05], shows that many innovative projects are underway. For example, the LGfL, in collaboration with the e-Learning Foundation [ELF, 05], has established a series of local foundations to support fund raising to help sustain schools-based and community-oriented ICT activities. These foundations are developed to support programmes derived from the Microsoft AAL initiative. Other initiatives are the LGfL Cache Boxes and LGfL@home, both which are designed to promote and simplify the provision, adoption and usage of broadband services at home.

Several Boroughs are developing their own wireless hotspot infrastructure. Islington, in partnership with Cityspace, have launched the ‘Technology Mile’ initiative to provide unbroken wireless access broadband access in on particular area. Similarly, the Borough of Rhondda Cyon Taff has established an unlicensed broadband wireless network across a large region in Wales, to connect corporate sites, educational & library facilities, many of which are regionally dispersed throughout very rough and rural terrain. Some Boroughs are now supporting their schools in the use of video-conferencing facilities to provide connectivity with schools around the world. Such a project in Worcester has seen language skills improve significantly as they have established videoconferences with schools in other countries. Preston, Cardiff, Bristol and Westminster Councils have been particularly proactive in promoting city-wide wireless infrastructures. Cardiff has created a wireless network based upon the BT Openzone technology [Cardiff, 05] whereas Westminster has used a technology in which the wireless access point is combined with a CCTV point [Westminster, 05].

The NGfL approach is undergoing development by creating the Community Grid for Learning programme. Several councils have already established these programmes including Dumfries & Galoway, Lambeth (a recognised example of best practice), Lincolnshire, Southwark, Manchester, etc. The aim of the Community Grid for Learning is to provide e-learning to the community as a whole and not just within schools and colleges.

4.3       A Regional Perspective

As with the other regions around the UK, within the Yorkshire & Humberside region there is the regional Grid for Learning initiative [YGfL, 05]. The Yorkshire & Humber Grid for Learning (YHGfL) is a consortium of many of the Local Education Authorities in the region established as a not-for-profit Foundation. This Foundation delivers a range of projects for the benefit of the schools in the region e.g. the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Broadband Project, as well as the YHGfL portal.

Within North Yorkshire there is the North Yorkshire Schools’ Learning Network [NorthYork, 05] whereas South Yorkshire has the e-SY.info Learning Portal. As a part of the Objective 1 funding, the four councils in South Yorkshire have established the South Yorkshire e-Learning Programme (SYeLP). The ‘e-SY.info Portal’ is the service created by the SYeLP and this is available to schools, colleges and some Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs) [e-SY.info, 05]. Currently the portal is hosted outside of South Yorkshire and so there are limitations on some of the services that can be made available. The funding for this portal ends in December 2006 and so there are discussions to address the sustainability model for the portal. One way forward is to host the portal within South Yorkshire and the RCCP would be well suited for this role.

Within Rotherham, some of the communities are establishing a local community Intranet and associated service capability. Dinnington, through the Dinnington Area Regeneration Trust (DART), has obtained Objective 1 funding to develop a range of community services based upon an open source solution [DART, 05]. This is one of the reasons why Dinnington has been selected as one of the RCCP Pilot Sites.

4.4       RCCP Pilot Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats

By placing the RCCP in the context of other national and regional activities the following analysis is possible:

• Strengths
  • There are several regional initiatives, at various stages of development, which are aimed at providing wider access to broadband networks. The network infrastructure emphasis of these initiatives makes the RCCP service-oriented focus well suited as a complementary activity
  • The provision of a borough-wide wireless infrastructure is a key component for enabling cheap and easy access to the Internet. This is an essential part for promoting broadband access and the corresponding range of services
  • The Digital Infrastructure created by the RCCP Pilot is well suited to supporting many different types of 3^rd party electronic services. It is also well suited to supporting the e-Government needs of RMBC as well as initiatives such as the Government Gateway;
• Weaknesses
  • While one of the Pilot Sites has an extensive community orientation (DART), the Pilot as a whole is not addressing the issues of multiculturalism both in terms of technological support and also community buy-in
  • From the perspective of the commercial sector, the learning materials to be supplied through the ‘Learning Portal’ are generic in nature and not tailored to specific sector needs;
• Opportunities
  • Discussions with BT have identified that the Department for Education and Skills is interested in having a Local Education Authority trial the VISP approach Borough-wide
  • The RCCP-in-a-Box is a solution that is well suited to implementation within the rest of the Yorkshire & Humber region. This should be considered as part of the sustainability evaluation;
• Threats
  • Sub-region and region-wide parties may attempt to thwart or delay the establishment of the RCCP Pilot due to misplaced belief that a grander-scale approach is the only solution
  • Political and commercial problems with key technology and service suppliers prove problematic to extending the RGfL.

5             Conclusions

The conclusions that can be drawn for the Rotherham Connected Community Project and the establishment of the Pilot are:

a)     The strategy from the Rotherham Learning Partnership for the establishment of the Rotherham Connected Community Project is advanced in terms of South Yorkshire, but many other areas around the UK have similar activities which, in terms of implementation and experimentation, are more advanced e.g. Cardiff, Bristol and Westminster;

b)     It is essential that RGfL is made available through wireless access. Wireless networking is an essential network technology that must be used to provide cheap and easy access to the Internet and broadband services;

c)     The service-oriented approach that integrates the Rotherham Grid for Learning with a managed network access via a Virtual Internet Service Provider with the sophisticated e-SY.info Learning Portal to provide a Digital Infrastructure on which a wide range of 3^rd party services can be supplied on a community-wide basis is very advanced;

d)     There are several commercial opportunities that can be evaluated within the scope of the Pilot. These include the RCCP-in-a-Box, the Virtual Internet Service Provision and the single sign on authentication and authorization service. There is potential for these to underwrite the required sustainability for the full RCCP.

6             References

[AAL, 98]	Powerful Tools for Schooling: Second Year Study of the LapTop Program, Rockman et al, http://www.rockman.com, October 98, pp.82.
[Cardiff, 05]	http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/capitaltimes/get.asp?cat=2387, March 2005.
[CENIC, 04]	Gigabit Broadband: A Self Assessment Guide for Communities, Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), S.Estrada, http://www.cenic.org/guide/pdfs/guide.pdf, September 2004.
[DART, 05]	Dinnington Area Regeneration Trust Invitation To Tender, DART, http://www.dinnington.net/, March 2005.
[ELF, 05]	e-Learning Foundation, http://www.e-learningfoundation.com/, 2005.
[e-SY.info, 05	South Yorkshire e-Learning Programme: e-SY.info Portal, http://www.e-sy.info, 2005.
[Feasibility, 04]	Rotherham Connected Community Pilot Feasibility Study, C.Smythe, B.Holland, J.Hague and N.Taylor, Dunelm Services Limited, PRJ.328/D02/1.0, November 2004.
[LGfL, 05]	London Grid for Learning, http://www.lgfl.net/, 2005.
[MetroChicago, 98]	Putting Our Minds Together: The Digital Network Infrastructure and Metropolitan Chicago, P.Widmayer and G.Greenberg, Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago, Illinois, http://www.nwu.edu/it/metrochicago/, August 1998, pp.63.
[MusicGrid, 05]	Music Grid, http://www.musicgrid.ca/index.php, 2003.
[NGfLE, 05]	National Grid for Learning (England), http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/, 2005.
[NGfLS, 05]	National Grid for Learning (Scotland), http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/ngflscotland/index.asp, 2005.
[NorthYork, 05]	North Yorkshire Schools Learning Network, http://www.n-yorks.net/, 2005.
[Westminster, 05]	http://www.westminster.gov.uk/councilgovernmentanddemocracy/councils/ modernisation/westminsterwirelesscity/press_release.cfm, 2005.
[YGfL, 05]	Yorkshire Grid for Learning, http://www.yhgfl.net/, 2005.

Abbreviations

ADSL	Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AAL	Anywhere, Anytime Learning
CCTV	Closed Circuit Television
DART	Dinnington Area Regeneration
ICT	Information & Communications Technology
ISP	Internet Service Provider
LGfL	London Grid for Learning
NGfL	National Grid for Learning
RBT	Rotherham Brought Together
RGfL	Rotherham Grid for Learning
RMBC	Rotherham metropolitan Borough Council
RCCP	Rotherham Connected Community Project
SME	Small, Medium Enterprise
SYeLP	South Yorkshire eLearning Programme
VISP	Virtual Internet Service Provider
YHGfl	Yorkshire & Humber Grid for Learning

Further Information

Further information is available from Colin Smythe who can be contacted at: colin@dunelm.com.

This positioning paper was completed by Dunelm Services Limited, Bradwell IT Solutions Limited and Network by Wireless Limited under contract to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.