As the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) project moves along in Traverse City, Michigan, utility board members are establishing the elements to set the service apart from other Internet access options in the community. The Record-Eagle reports that the board will decide in March on rates and that they've already chosen a name and logo.

Brand Recognition

The new service will be TCLP fiber and their tagline will be "Your Community Network." Traverse City Light & Power (TCL&P) are banking on the connection to their municipal electric utility. TCL&P will receive help marketing the service from Fujitsu, the company hired by Traverse City to design and operate the network.

Fujitsu Network Communications Marketing Lead Lori Butler said the name draws on the brand recognition the utility already has, while differentiating the new enterprise. The tagline “Your Community Network” emphasizes the public utility’s mission and the fact that it’s a community-owned network, she said.

Butler said the proposed logo also draws on the familiar, adding the word “fiber” and the tagline to the existing network, plus a strand of fiber optic cable. She showed the board a few proposed color combinations, and they ultimately gravitated toward a blue and yellow design similar to the existing logo, with a darker blue added as an accent.

Fujitsu also recommended rates, which will be approved by the utility board in March:

Fujitsu...suggested [basic] rates from $59.99 per month for residential customers to $149.99 a month for commercial customers. Those rates would buy download and upload speeds of 200 megabits per second residential; one gigabit per second commercial.

Scott Menhart, TCL&P chief information technology officer, said 200 megabits per second is twice as fast as what most area commercial providers offer in their base package, and they typically offer upload speeds of just 10 megabits per second.

The higher upload speed will matter for customers as people put more and more devices online, Fujitsu Network Communications broadband operations head Robert Worden said. He cited a household average of 11 devices — and said that’s bound to rise, factoring in...

Whenever Christopher attends a Broadband Communities event, he returns with great stories from cities and towns across the U.S. that have invested in publicly owned Internet infrastructure. This week, we share his interview with Mel Poole, Ocala Fiber Network Director.

You may automatically think of Kentucky when you consider horses, but Ocala, Florida, is considered the "Horse Capital of the World." Fast thoroughbreds may end up at The Derby, but they often start in Ocala. Whether it's gigabits or galloping horses, Ocala has found a way to capitalize on the concept of speed.

The city first began with publicly owned fiber optic infrastructure for SCADA operations and later expanded their use to reduce telecommunications costs. Since ending leased T1 lines, the city has saved millions and taken control of connectivity. That was before Mel worked for the city, but he's well-versed in the story of the Ocala Fiber Network, and describes how they expanded to offer services to more sectors of the community.

Mel and Christopher talk about the city's decision to begin working with the public and how, by educating local decision makers, Mel and his team were able to help them make an informed choice. As Ocala worked with more entities, they've also faced challenges related to deployment and marketing. There's a fine line they need to walk between spreading the word about great service and their ability to connect subscribers in a timely fashion. Christopher and Mel talk about demographics, economic development, and Mel's vision for Ocala that's tied into their fiber optic infrastructure.

Read more about Ocala and...

When anti-muni groups have taken aim at publicly owned networks, they’ve often put UTOPIA in their crosshairs. The Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency has had times of struggle, but those days seem to be over. The network is expanding, subscribers are touting the benefits that come with the choice of an open access network, and other communities are reaching out to UTOPIA for advice. Days in UTOPIA country are sunny.

In this interview, Christopher speaks with Kimberly McKinley, UTOPIA’s Chief Marketing Officer, about the new and improved UTOPIA. Kimberly describes some of the ways the agency has adjusted their thinking from public entity to public entity with a competitive edge. She notes that marketing isn’t something that organizations such as public utilities think they need to worry about, but in the world of connectivity, strong marketing strategy pays off.

Along with lessons learned, Kimberly shares the triumphs that have turned UTOPIA into the leader in the region. UTOPIA’s footprint is growing, their services are expanding, and they’re influencing more communities. They’ve worked hard to reach this level of success and we see their trajectory to continue upward.

Check out more coverage of UTOPIA on MuniNetworks.org.

Read the transcript for the show.

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This show is 18 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed. You can...

For episode 329 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, our guests Deb Socia from Next Century Cities and Bob Knight of P.R. and Marketing firm Harrison Edwards discussed political will and its effect on community broadband network projects. Political will is one of many key ingredients of a successful network initiative, but it's only one of the many balls in the air that a community must juggle to get a project started and keep it healthy. As Bob mentioned in the interview, Harrison Edwards has formed an entire practice area dedicated to the special needs surrounding broadband projects. They recently launched a new website that can help interested communities learn more about what they offer.

It Isn’t All About Political Will

While getting elected officials educated and onboard with the connectivity needs of the community and helping them discover paths to improvement, moving a project forward and keeping it going strong requires much more. The Harrison Edwards team aims to also educate the community and market the campaign around the initiative. They will work to shed light on benefits for a range of stakeholders and will take necessary steps to run interference against misinformation.

Once a project has been approved, the firm will manage community expectations, market the project, and work with the press to help hit the ground running. In addition to bringing projects from idea to reality, Harrison Edwards recognizes that marketing the services offered by community networks is a skill often outside of a municipality’s wheelhouse. With effective marketing to drive up take rates, a community broadband project stands a better chance of long-term success.

Harrison Edwards has established a team whose sole focus is dedicated to community broadband projects. The team includes professionals from the public sector who have inside knowledge about the perspective of elected officials grappling with the decisions associated with these types of projects. They also maintain close ties to industry experts that have worked in the community network sphere, such as COS Systems, Foresite Group, and Nokia....