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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Bozeman City Commission Approves Master Plan: "It's A No-Brainer"
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on
Bozeman elected officials voted unanimously on January 26th to approve a recently completed master plan and take the next step to deploying publicly owned open access infrastructure. We discussed the Bozeman approach in a recent podcast with city staff and a local business.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that local business leaders attended the City Commission meeting to speak in favor of the initiative, including the local Chamber of Commerce president, representatives from local tech companies, and the director of the Downtown Bozeman business coalition.
Commissioners heard comments from supporters, CenturyLink, and local provider Montana Opticom. Even though Jim Dolan from Montana Optimcom expressed some concerns about some engineering issues, the local ISP rep still said, "It’s a great initiative and it really will help the valley.” The Chronicle reports commissioners questioned supporters for about an hour before voting to move forward.
The project plan will use tax increment funding (TIF) in the Downtown and North 7th Avenue designated TIF Districts to facilitate funding for the first phase of the project. Phases two and three will bring fiber to the public schools and close up the proposed fiber rings by expanding to more business districts. You can reivew the Bozeman Fiber Master Plan and Feasibility Study and a summary of the project in the Commission Memorandum online.
The vote echoed a recent editorial in the Chronicle promoting the project and describing the decision to move forward as a "no-brainer":
On Monday, the Bozeman City Commission will consider a proposal to direct money from the North Seventh Avenue and downtown tax increment finance districts into a project to install a broadband, fiber-optic network around the city.
That’s a long and complicated sentence that describes what would be a not-too-monumental action on the part of the commissioners. But it could be the catalyst for a major economic boom to the city and the region, and commissioners should not hesitate to sign on to the plan. This system will provide sorely needed ultra high-speed Internet access to businesses and institutions.
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There’s really no reason not to get involved in this reasonably priced project that has the potential to produce tremendous economic benefits.
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