How the Town of Castle Rock Reduced Its Costs and Improved Mobile Data Performance
Executive Summary
Lessons Learned from Mobile Management Optimization
Castle Rock is somewhat unusual in that it is a full-service community wherein the town government provides many of the services -- from Police and Fire Departments to various utilities such as water -- rather than contracting out to Special Districts as happens in other communities.
The police are equipped with laptops in patrol cars. Mobile communications from the laptops, primarily provided by cellular wireless services, are used for checking identities and vehicle license plates, and they are also used to send in reports. One of the communications challenges that Castle Rock faced in recent years has been repeated communications service failures, for reasons that were difficult to establish and document.
Kevin Capp has been the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Castle Rock for over 10 years. As CTO, Capp is responsible for the provision of the communications and computing necessary for Castle Rock employees to deliver town services.
A key element of technology services provision is mobile communications. Many employees require these to do their jobs. In this case study, Capp discusses how mobile communications problems were investigated and identified, the subsequent and highly revealing negotiations with carriers to resolve them and the practical consequences.