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Wireless Service (WiFi) Standard
CONTENTS
1. CONTEXT 3
1.1. Background 3
1.2. Purpose 3
1.3. Scope and application 3
1.4. Policy context 3
1.5. The ICT Services Catalogue 4
2. KEY PRINCIPLES 4
3. REQUIREMENTS 5
3.1. Requirements tables 5
3.3.1 Silver (Standard) Use Cases / Scenarios 6
3.3.2 Gold (Enhanced) Use Cases / Scenarios 7
3.2. Elements of this standard 8
3.2.1 Wireless Services (WiFi) Requirements 8
3.2.2 Service Management Requirements 9
DOCUMENT CONTROL 11
APPENDIX A – IMPLEMENTING A WiFi SERVICE 12
APPENDIX B – EXPECTED TECHNICAL FEATURES 13
APPENDIX C – DEFINITIONS 14
APPENDIX D – ABBREVIATIONS 15
APPENDIX E – REFERENCES 16
APPENDIX F – STANDARDS 17
Developing technical standards 17
Management and implementation 17
- CONTEXT
1.1. Background
This is a technical standard developed through the NSW ICT Procurement and Technical Standards Working Group. The standard contains technical and functional requirements that agencies should consider when procuring wireless service (WiFi) solutions.
By defining the necessary and common elements across agencies the standard provides an opportunity to leverage the buying power of Government as a whole, improve procurement efficiency and increase interoperability.
1.2. Purpose
The purpose of this standard is to assist NSW Government agencies to develop, procure and implement WiFi solutions and tools, as well as take full advantage of their benefits. This standard also helps agencies procure in a strategic manner that reflects the NSW Government’s priorities as outlined in the NSW Government ICT Strategy.
This standard details the issues that need to be considered so each agency can identify the available options that best suit their business requirements, helping agencies achieve value for money through cost savings and improved flexibility of service offerings.
1.3. Scope and application
This standard applies to all NSW Government departments, statutory bodies and shared service providers. It does not apply to state owned corporations, but is recommended for their adoption.
For the purposes of this standard, a Wireless Service (WiFi) means a data transmission service for users of wireless devices through radio frequency (RF) signals rather than through wired end-to-end communication.
This standard sets out service definitions as minimum requirements that vendors must meet to be able to offer their services through the NSW ICT Services Catalogue. Agencies should consider any specific operational or regulatory factors that impact their requirements, and specific requirements they have in addition to those detailed in this standard.
1.4. Policy context
The NSW Government ICT Strategy and Digital+ 2015 Final Update set out the Government’s plan to: build capability across the NSW public sector to deliver better, more customer-focused services that are available anywhere, anytime; and to derive increased value from the Government’s annual investment in ICT.
Information sharing, open data and reuse of technology are priority initiatives of the ICT Strategy, to maximise the return on government investments, support better policy development and service delivery. The NSW Government ICT Investment Policy and Guidelines establishes these requirements for all new ICT projects, particular to make better use of the functionality in existing systems. APIs are an essential mechanism for meeting these requirements.
The NSW Government Enterprise Architecture (NSW GEA) provides direction and practical guidance to accelerate the development of agency EA capability and enabling a common, intra and inter agency approach to the design of digital government. It encompasses all aspects of enterprise architecture activity at the business, information, application and technology infrastructure layers. The NSW GEA is mapping the landscape of Whole of Government systems available across the sector, highlighting opportunities for reuse and where APIs can add value.
NSW Government, along with many governments in other jurisdictions, has moved towards opening up previously protected databases and applications, so that data and functionality can be accessed across agency boundaries or reused in new systems. Within NSW this has been reflected in the development of the NSW Government Open Data Policy, which provides clear direction for agencies to make their data available to the public in machine readable forms, including through the availability of APIs.
Developing whole of NSW Government ICT technical standards is a key initiative of the NSW Government ICT Strategy, driven by the ICT Procurement and Technical Standards Working Group. These standards leverage principles defined in the NSW Government ICT Strategy and the NSW Government Cloud Policy, and they support the NSW ICT Services Catalogue.
The standards set out service definitions as minimum requirements that vendors must meet to be able to offer their services through the NSW Services Catalogue. This helps achieve consistency across service offerings, emphasising a move to as a service sourcing strategies in line with the NSW Government ICT Strategy, and it signals government procurement priorities to industry.
This standard should be applied along with existing NSW Government policies and guidance, including the NSW Digital Information Security Policy. More information on the process for the development of standards that populate the ICT Services Catalogue is at Appendix F – Standards.
1.5. The ICT Services Catalogue
This catalogue provides suppliers with a showcase for their products and services, and an opportunity to outline how their offerings meet or exceed standard government requirements. The standards, together with supplier service offerings, help to reduce red tape and duplication of effort by allowing suppliers to submit service details only once against the standards. The offerings are then available to all potential buyers, simplifying procurement processes for government agencies.
Implementing this category management approach will embed common approaches, technologies and systems to maintain currency, improve interoperability and provide better value ICT investment across NSW Government.
- KEY PRINCIPLES
The following key principles underpin this standard:
· Fit for purpose: Wireless solutions should meet agency business requirements, and provide sufficient bandwidth for current and future applications.
· Information security: Meet any applicable requirements of the NSW Digital Information Security Policy and ISO 27001.
· Interoperability: Wireless services should meet applicable industry and open interoperability standards.
· Value for money: API development should deliver value for money, in line with the investment principles set out in the NSW Government ICT Investment Policy and Guidelines.
· Technology currency: Solutions should be designed to maintain technology currency for key systems, and to maintain a pace that aligns with business context and risk profile.
· Facilitating as a service: Wireless solutions should facilitate the agency transition to as a service, and ensure agency alignment with broader NSW ICT Strategy.
· Mobility: Wireless services should support mobility for NSW Government employees, contractors, and those engaging and interacting with NSW Government (including consuming government services).
- REQUIREMENTS
3.1. Requirements tables
The following tables set out the recommended business and technical requirements for NSW Government. They provide a consistent approach for all NSW Government agencies regardless of their size.
When considering any aspect of a wireless solution an agency must consider the Service Management aspects of the service(s) on offer. The following applies in these requirements tables:
Use Case / ExplanationAgency (Internal) / Provision of agency services in place of, or supplementary to wired services. Access to services via agency identity management service.
Government Service Access / Provision of service to other areas of the Government service, access provided via means of Government Identity Hub identity.
Public (External) / Provision of services to members of the public, access granted via ‘appropriate electronic usage agreement’.
Implementation of WiFi solutions should align with best practice, as outlined at Appendix A – Implementing a WiFi Service.
Explanations elements of the following tables are provided at section 3.4.
Additional definitions for items discussed can be found in Appendix C, and details of abbreviations can be found at Appendix D.
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Wireless Service (WiFi) Standard
3.3.1 Silver (Standard) Use Cases / Scenarios
‘Use cases’ for wireless service solutions that are anticipated in agencies are included in the table below. The corresponding requirement sections of this standard are ticked in the columns.
Use Case / ScenarioSILVER / Wireless Services (WiFi) / Service Management
Alignment with international best practice / Mobile and flexible / Vendor / operating environment agnostic / Performance / Reliable, scalable and dynamic / Supports applications and advanced functionality / Authentication and access operation / Information capture and recording / Voice and data enabled / Voice capable, data enabled / Self-service administration / Full-service administration / Cloud compliant hosting facility / NSW Government Data Centre / Onshore/offshore management / Service level management / Multi-service broker provision / Disaster recovery
Agency (Internal) / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
Government Service Access / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
Public (External) / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
3.3.2 Gold (Enhanced) Use Cases / Scenarios
‘Use cases’ for wireless service solutions that are anticipated in agencies are included in the table below. The corresponding requirement sections of this standard are ticked in the columns.
Use Case / ScenarioGOLD / Wireless Services (WiFi) / Service Management
Alignment with international best practice / Mobile and flexible / Vendor/operating environment agnostic / Performance / Reliable, scalable and dynamic / Supports applications and advanced functionality / Authentication and access operation / Information capture and recording / Voice and data enabled / Voice capable, data enabled / Self-service administration / Full-service administration / Cloud compliant hosting facility / NSW Government Data Centre / Onshore/offshore management / Service level management / Multi-service broker provision / Disaster recovery
Agency (Internal) / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
Government Service Access / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
Public (External) / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü / ü
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Wireless Service (WiFi) Standard
3.2. Elements of this standard
3.2.1 Wireless Services (WiFi) Requirements
Alignment with international best practice
The underpinning purpose of sourcing as a service is to allow agencies to access and consume the best off-the-shelf ICT services in a scalable and flexible way, rather than procuring or developing bespoke solutions that fail to keep pace with new developments in technology.
· Rather than designing a new series of bespoke technical requirements for WiFi technology the NSW Government relies on the best practice specifications contained in the IEEE 802.11 suite of standards (see Appendix B – Expected Technical Features).
· WiFi services advertised and sourced via the NSW ICT Services Catalogue must align with IEEE802.11n: Next generation Wireless LAN Technology at minimum, with the ability to transition to alignment with IEEE 802.11ac within a reasonable period.
· Public WiFi networks must align with the requirements of the IEEE 802.11u Protocol, or must have the capability of transitioning to alignment with IEEE 802.11u within a reasonable period. Ideally, public wireless service providers will be certified through the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Certified PassPoint.
Mobile and flexible
The wireless network must support the modern business environment, including flexible work practices such as activity based working and hot desking. The service must support guest, public and private access, including access for BYOD devices.
Vendor / operating environment agnostic
The WiFi network should be accessible via a wide range of device and operating environment types. Devices such as laptops, mobile devices (including agency supplied and BYODs), printers, protectors, lighting systems, security cameras and IP telephony should be able to connect to, and access the network. The network should also be fully compatible with widely used operating environments.
Performance
The WiFi service should be fast and should have the capability of maintaining fast speeds for a large number of users and be capable of speeds aligning with IEEE802.11n at minimum.
The solution will provide appropriate built-in redundancy to achieve agency required levels of service. Typically this should be not less than 98% during agreed business hours (agreed at time of implementation and/or at regular service review points). During other times availability should not be less than 95%. Appropriate maintenance is to be carried out in accordance with SLAs. Agencies should agree standard and critical maintenance windows.
Reliable, scalable and dynamic
The wireless network must be reliable, scalable, and able to adapt to dynamic changes in traffic type and volume without causing disruptions to the user or server experience. Handover between access points should be seamless. Ideally, the service should incorporate the beamforming signal processing technique to improve performance, reliability and range.
Supports applications and advanced functionality
The WiFi network should be able to support traditional data and multimedia applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP), videoconferencing and instant messaging. The WiFi network must also support advanced WiFi functionality such as specialist handling of voice, video, presence and printing from providers such as Apple, Cisco, Microsoft and IPFX.
Authentication and access operation
The WiFi service should grant access to the network based on user and device identity, with reference to multiple MDM, LDAP and network management systems.
Information capture and recording
The WiFi service must provide sufficient live information to enable diagnosis and to resolution of location, connection and performance issues. The WiFi service must also capture sufficient information for accurate, complete and fully auditable logs suitable for financial management and information security purposes.