Case study:A University student who may not have the internet connected at their flat will be able to benefit from the free WiFi service at our local libraries
Mayor Max Hipkins
City of Nedlands
Since coming on board as a trusted technology partner, iiNet has assisted the City in reducing costs and enabling innovation, through the provision of a hybrid business cloud that hosts the council’s servers, fixed and mobile voice services for whole council, and connecting council buildings together through a managed Wide Area Network (WAN).
The City of Nedlands is a local government area situated in the inner western suburbs of Perth, stretching from the banks of the Swan River to the edge of the Indian Ocean.
With a population of over 21,000 within its suburbs, the City of Nedlands is a progressive and innovative government agency committed to local residents and businesses.
“Each of our sites functioned as a silo and controlling costs was difficult to achieve. The goal was to consolidate our voice, data and mobile solutions into one easily managed package.”
With a vision to become an efficient and innovative council, the City of Nedlands has a plan in place to help them reach their goals of delivering better value, reducing costs, and improving efficiency and effectiveness.
Before iiNet won a communications tender with the City of Nedlands, the City was searching for a networking and storage solution that would help staff better connect with each other and with the local community.
Mike Fletcher, Manager of Corporate Strategy and Systems at the City of Nedlands, said that one of their biggest IT concerns was communication between multiple sites in a secure and private environment.
“Each of our sites functioned as a silo and controlling costs was difficult to achieve. The goal was to consolidate our voice, data and mobile solutions into one easily managed package.”
Additionally, the City was looking to take the lead as a progressive city and accommodate developments in technology, by bringing free public WiFi to the community and developing other exciting initiatives such as LED lighting, smart parking and waste management solutions.
“We have now consolidated all of our communications into one manageable solution, reduced costs and introduced more bang for the ratepayer’s dollar, we are very happy with the progress we have made in such a short time.”
iiNet was successful in winning a communications tender with the City of Nedlands to improve the City’s communication networks and the way it does business.
Since coming on board as a trusted technology partner, iiNet has assisted the City in reducing costs and enabling innovation, through the provision of a hybrid business cloud that hosts the council’s servers, fixed and mobile voice services for whole council, and connecting council buildings together through a managed Wide Area Network (WAN).
In particular, WAN helps link the City’s administrative buildings together with their depots, libraries, community centres and aged care facilities in the area.
According to the City’s Mike Fletcher, there have been significant improvements since the adoption of iiNet Business Cloud.
“We have now consolidated all of our communications into one manageable solution, reduced costs and introduced more bang for the ratepayer’s dollar, we are very happy with the progress we have made in such a short time,” said Mike.
Most recently, iiNet has partnered with the City of Nedlands to introduce free public WiFi for the first time.
This service allows residents and local businesses to connect to the internet for basic web browsing, bringing the City in line with public WiFi initiatives rolled out in Adelaide, Canberra and very shortly, Melbourne.
City of Nedlands’ Mayor Max Hipkins said he saw the need to introduce free WiFi to the City to take the lead as a progressive city and accommodate the ever-changing world of technology.
“It was really important for the City to adopt free WiFi. We live in an ever-changing world of technology and one where people need to be connected to the pulse of the internet via portable devices including mobile phones, tablets and laptops.”
As the second largest DSL service provider in Australia and a homegrown WA company, iiNet was pleased to help the City of Nedlands innovate.
According to Jamie D'Arcy, Manager SMB at iiNet, free community WiFi is considered the base infrastructure for a modern city.
“With cities across the world building public wireless networks, there is a growing expectation that free and seamless access will be available for visitors and residents alike. The City of Nedlands’ foresight will allow it to further develop new and exciting services for its community.”
The introduction of free WiFi will benefit a wide variety of people in the area including students, residents, visitors, business and workers.
“For example, a University student who may not have the internet connected at their flat will be able to benefit from the free WiFi service at our local libraries – especially as the University library and communal areas become busier during examination periods and throughout certain periods of the semester. This way, they will be able to utilise our services and in turn encourage greater connectivity between the City and the community,” said Mayor Hipkins.
Added Jamie D'Arcy, “Bringing this access to the City of Nedlands will also generate many benefits for local businesses as a way to add value to their services, attract and retain more customers, and hence generate more sales.”