Project Planning

Once you have determined the nature of your broadband initiative, the methods to address the broadband requirements for your municipality, and are ready to proceed, planning is the next step. The following information provides a guide on developing a project plan, which is applicable whether you are going to work with ISPs to extend, enhance, or build networks, or whether you are building a network of your own. For whoever is building the network, or building out the network, we will approach this as a network deployment project.

A critical aspect of getting ready to undertake a broadband network deployment project is to develop a Broadband Project Management Plan. The Broadband Project Management Plan is not a technical plan. The project plan is intended to clearly describe the overall scope and context of the project and the steps that the project proponent must take to ensure that the project is successful.

Project Plan Essentials

The project management plan should have a clear definition of roles and responsibilities, partners required, levels of effort and associated costs, and a timeline. Plans and actions must include promotion and community awareness, and extend beyond the initial deployment phase. It is expected that there will be partners and other contributors to the execution of the broadband deployment. The project plan must recognize these contributions even though the details of those project elements may not be clearly defined at the early stages of the project plan definition.

A typical project plan will address the following topics:

  • Clear goals and objectives. Those involved in the project must share a clear understanding of the goals and objectives as well as the scope of the project.
  • A breakdown of major activities. These include the key activities included in this guide plus all associated steps. A list of major activities is provided below for reference.
  • Project Plan development
  • Identification and commitment of project team, with roles and responsibilities
  • Identification of potential or of required project partners and their role in the project
  • Development and issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP)
  • Evaluation of RFP responses and broadband vendor selection
  • Identification of financial investment required and funding sources
  • Obtaining funding commitment
  • Purchase agreement and contract with the selected ISP vendor
  • Creating, negotiating, and approving the Partnership Agreement
  • Developing the Technical Plan with the selected ISP and project partners
  • Developing the Business Plan with the selected ISP and project partners
  • Identification of in-kind services to be made available for the project
  • Development of a broadband promotion and awareness plan
  • A timeline for executing the plan with a recognition of a sequence of steps and dependencies
  • Roles and responsibilities for those contributing to the project with an understanding of skills and experience required.
  • Human resource estimates of staff required to be directly working on the project. This may include contracted resources as well as existing employed staff.
  • Funding estimates. There should be a preliminary estimate identifying all project costs. This may be refined once the RFP process is completed and specific ISP costs are identified. The availability and the source of in-kind services should also be considered to offset funding requirements.
  • Third-party involvement and partners who need to be involved and in what capacity.
  • Risk assessment – identification of risk factors, the potential impacts, and strategies to mitigate the risks.

It is essential that an experienced and a capable Project Manager be assigned at an early stage, and committed to the project at least through the initial deployment of the broadband network. The Project Manager should report to and should be accountable to the community organization that is leading the broadband project initiative. The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall project plan and the interfacing with other project partners throughout the planning and execution of the project, to ensure that the interests of the community are served.