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Another Texas Town Considers Fiber Infrastructure

People in Lampasas are fed up with outages that have repeatedly plagued the community due to lack of redundant infrastructure connecting the central Texas municipality. Now, the city and the Lampasas Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) are asking the community to complete an Internet survey to help determine how best to move forward an achieve better connectivity.

Cuts to the Line

In the spring, summer, and early fall of 2017, Lampasas experienced four outages totaling 45 hours when local construction projects accidentally cut AT&T fiber, the only Internet connection into town. Without a redundant line, the community’s residents, businesses, emergency services, and hospitals were cut off for days as AT&T repaired the breaks. To add insult to injury, AT&T didn’t respond well to the town’s requests to resolve the situation:

“We felt like we weren't a priority on AT&T's list, so when we had outages, and we had businesses that were losing thousands of dollars, and we were calling and we were trying to get reimbursements, and we were trying to get answers, and we were trying to see if there were future projects for infrastructure for Lampasas, we just weren't getting a good response from AT&T,” Lampasas Economic Development Director Mandy Walsh said. 

Within a few months, local leaders had started searching for a firm to help them assess their options. After considering proposals from six different companies, Lampasas chose Foresite Group for a project that includes a market analysis and a technology assessment. As part of the project, Foresite Group has helped the city and the LEDC prepare the current survey.

The survey has divided the community into Service Zones in order to obtain a detailed analysis of which areas of town residents and businesses are most interested in better Internet access. The Service Zones approach will also help the city, the EDC and Foresite discover Internet access speeds in each area of town.

Chicopee Official Encourages Residents to Share Support for Muni Through Online Petition

Sometimes city councils don’t quite have their fingers on the pulse of their constituents. It can be difficult to know what everyone wants, so there are instances when taking a direct approach it the best way to share our thoughts. In Chicopee, Massachusetts, City Councilor Joel McAuliffe is giving constituents from across the city a chance to express their support for municipal broadband with an online petition…and people are responding.

Read the petition here.

More Wait and See

McAuliffe took the unorthodox approach after his colleagues on the governing body voted not to support his resolution to move forward on municipal broadband for Chicopee. Instead, they decided to refer the resolution to the Utilities Committee for further review. He decided to create the petition, he said, because other councilors stated that they have not heard from their constituents about the issue.

Members of the council didn’t react favorably to the resolution, several wondering what consequences would await them and the city if they committed themselves if they passed it. Others stated that they weren’t against municipal broadband, but wanted more information before moving ahead, especially related to cost, funding, and whether or not the city could afford the investment.

In 2015, the city hired consultants to complete a feasibility study. The results concluded that the city would benefit from a publicly owned fiber optic network for several reasons. In addition to the fact that many in the community now obtain Internet access via Verizon DSL or Charter Spectrum, the survey shows that households in Chicopee tend to use more than the national average number of Internet- connected devices. As the community moves forward, consultants warned, stress on the already overtaxed copper infrastructure will only increase.

Stillwater, Oklahoma, Moves from RFQ to Study

Last March, the community of Stillwater, Oklahoma, issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking a firm to complete a feasibility study. After narrowing down their list of responses, the Stillwater Utilities Authority (SUA) unanimously approved funds for a feasibility study that will examine the potential for a publicly owned network in the city of approximately 50,000.

One Step Forward

At the September meeting, trustees approved $150,000 for the study. Staff have narrowed down the list of potential firms for the feasibility study from 13 responses to the top three firms. Now they will ask those three firms to provide more detailed proposals. Some of the information community leaders want include estimated deployment and operating costs and the demand in Stillwater for publicly owned Internet infrastructure. 

SUA is also interested in which models would best suit the community. Stillwater leaders have concerns with the quality of local connectivity, the consequences of the repeal of federal network neutrality protections, and their ability to compete economically. SUA systems administrator Billy Palmisano said, “It’s just a basic question, do we want to lead the way and have the ultimate decision on the path that we take, or do we want to let others help us on that path.”

Each Community is Unique

SUA staff discussed possible models, including open access, public-private partnerships, and direct retail services. Choosing the right model for Stillwater is an area where consultants’ recommendations appears to be most requested:

“That’s been one of the big questions that we’ve had, is whether this is something that typically goes in rural areas where they don’t have a lot of options, but there’s at least one other community in Oklahoma, Sallisaw – Fort Collins, Colorado – and several other communities that had other options but chose to go with this anyway,” [Special Projects Director John] McClenny said. “It’s been across the board. Would this fly in Stillwater or not, that’s one of the things we need to know from the study.”

Stillwater’s Oklahoma State University campus brings about 23,500 students to the community and has its own fiber optic network. SUA staff see an opportunity to possibly work with OSU and expand the infrastructure project.

Introducing the Community Networks Quickstart Program, Our New Service with NEO Partners

Determining if a publicly owned network is right for your community is a multi-step, complex process. Many factors will influence whether or not the residents, business owners, and local leaders in your community will want to make an investment in Internet access infrastructure. ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative is now working with NEO Partners, LLC,* to help local communities in the early phases as they consider investing in publicly owned infrastructure. For a limited time, a few select communities will receive special pricing to help spread the word about the Community Networks Quickstart Program. Apply by September 28th to be considered as one of the pilot communities.

Let us know at: info@cnquickstart.com

Please include the proposed study region, an estimate for the number of premises to be considered, and any relevant factors. We will select up to four communities with the goal of having a mix of rural and urban, large and small, and geographic distribution.

Knowledge of the Possibilities is Power

When it comes to planning for deployment or expanding existing infrastructure, one of the most challenging unknowns is cost. With our new Community Networks Quickstart Program, we will provide cost estimates for three possible models for communities who sign up for the service:

1. Full Fiber-to-the-Premise

2. Full Wireless

3. Hybrid

In addition to an estimate on cost, we will consider the size, population, and other characteristics of your community and provide advice and resources that will be the most effective for your community’s situation. You’ll also receive a recommended design that you can refer to as you work with consultants, engineers, and as you apply for grant or loan funding. Our mission is to give you some preliminary information and guidance to make your work with an in-depth consultant more effective. We are not replacing the need for in-depth design work.

Each community is unique, so after you provide some basic information about your community, we'll seek out more specific data to help with our analysis. We’ll hold a conference call with you to review the results and provide documentation on our analysis and additional resources that we believe will provide additional insight.

Detroit Suburbs, Prodded by Public School System, Consider I-Net Collaboration

Just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Grosse Pointe communities and institutions are considering whether to work with local Internet service provider Rocket Fiber to build an institutional network (I-Net).

The Grosse Pointe suburbs, or “the Pointes”, are composed of five independent municipalities situated along a strip of land northeast of the city, jutting slightly into Lake St. Clair. Their network, tentatively called the Grosse Pointe Area Educational Telecommunications Network (GP EdNet), would connect schools, libraries, and municipal buildings with 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) speeds.

If the cities and institutions all approve the arrangement, they would form a consortium, consisting of the City of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods, Harper Woods, the Grosse Pointe Public Library, and the Grosse Pointe Public School System.

Under the current plan, Rocket Fiber would build the institutional fiber network for the public partners and provide maintenance for 20 years. The consortium would own and provide voice and Internet services. During construction, the ISP would also lay down its own fiber in order to offer Internet services to nearby residents and businesses at some point in the future.

Rocket Fiber has estimated total cost for the 14-mile long GP EdNet at under $3 million. Participating communities and institutions would split the core expenses but each would be individually responsible for financing the connections from their own buildings to the main fiber ring.

Schools Leading the Way

Taking A Small Step Toward Better Connectivity in Keene, New Hampshire

Officials in Keene, New Hampshire, have been discussing ways to improve local connectivity for several years. In early July, they received more food for thought when the consultant they hired presented the results of a broadband study.

Check out the full study.

Assistant city manager and technical director for the city Rebecca Landry noted at a June meeting of the City Council’s planning, licenses, and development committee that companies and residents in surrounding states typically pay less for high-quality connectivity. She stressed that their ability to boost economic development relies in part on fast, affordable, reliable broadband access. She also reminded members that the study was not a proposal or a plan, but a review of options for consideration.

Survey Confirms Better Options Needed

Both business and residential surveys revealed that the community of Keene needs and wants better Internet access. A whopping 90 percent of residential respondents and 77 percent of business respondents chose the “I need better Internet/data service” option as part of the general questions on the survey. Additionally, 98 percent of residents and 100 percent of business owners who responded to the survey stated that they believe Internet access and technology are important to their household and/or the future success of their business.

Comments included a desire for more competition. Within Keene, property owners have access to Spectrum cable Internet access while just beyond town limits, Consolidated Communications (formerly Fairpoint) offers slow DSL or people can subscribe to expensive and unreliable satellite Internet access. Respondents replied with stories about visitors who express shock at the poor state of Internet access in Keene. Folks who work from home complain that, if they want better speeds, their only option is expensive business class connections from Spectrum. 

Cleveland Heights Wants Broadband Options; City Council Talks Muni

Like other local communities around the country, Cleveland Heights in Ohio is beginning a conversation about the possibility of publicly owned Internet infrastructure. The impending loss of federal network neutrality protections, the desire to compete with other communities, and ensuring digital equality, are several issues local leaders consider most important.

Citizens Leading the Way

Councilman Mike Ungar is one of the members of the City Council that have expressed interest in learning more about the possibility of a muni. He reported at a recent meeting that he's been in contact with a group of citizens who have been researching publicly owned networks. They hope to convince the city to commission a feasibility study to be completed by mid-2019.

In addition to providing better economic development opportunities by improving local connectivity, the group feels that a municipal network would better address the city’s digital divide. They’re also concerned about data privacy and how the lack of network neutrality protections will affect businesses and residents in the community that is served by incumbents Spectrum and AT&T. Having been caught digital redlining in nearby Cleveland, locals have reason to refuse to trust AT&T.

Draft Legislation

The grassroots group interested in exploring a municipal broadband network for the city has prepared draft legislation they hope city leaders will consider adopting to put the issue on the November 2019 ballot; the measure would ask voters to approve a municipal broadband utility. The city does not operate an electric utility and Cleveland Heights residents obtain water service from Cleveland Water, which is operated by the City of Cleveland.

Cleveland Heights, located about 10 miles due west of downtown Cleveland, has about 20,000 households with a population of approximately 46,000 people. They describe themselves as diverse, progressive, and note that many artists and patrons of the arts choose the town as their home.

Stillwater, Oklahoma, Releases RFQ For Feasibility Study

Stillwater, Oklahoma, recently released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in its search for a firm to complete a feasibility study. The city’s Utilities Authority is considering establishing a community owned and operated broadband utility to add to its electric, water, wastewater, and trash and recycling collection utilities. Responses are due April 30, 2018.

Open To Suggestions

Stillwater wants the firm they hire for the study to consider a range of possible models, including dark fiber, open access, and a retail model in which the utility offers services directly to subscribers. They also want partnerships considered that might include Oklahoma State University and Central Rural Electric Cooperative.

OSU’s Stillwater Campus serves about 23,500 students and is considered the flagship of the OSU system. More than 6,000 people work at the school. Central Rural Electric Cooperative doesn’t currently offer broadband to members, but cooperatives and local governments are exploring these types of partnerships more often. In Mecklenburg, Virginia, a project involving a rural cooperative and Mecklenburg County will bring Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to much of the county premises.

As part of the analysis, Stillwater Utilities Authority expect whomever they hire to also provide needs assessments, options for financing, capital costs estimates, and market analysis, in addition to other considerations that will help them move forward.

The Authority wants a self-sustainable gigabit network that offers fast, affordable, reliable symmetrical services to residents, businesses, and its industrial sector.

Stillwater, Oklahoma

The community’s located in the north central part of the state with around 50,000 people in the city. In addition to OSU, a medical center and the headquarters of convenience store franchise OnCue are some of the top employers.

Grassroots Group Taking Action In Cambridge

We’ve reported on many communities where citizen grassroots groups mobilized to implement change for better connectivity which often resulted in publicly owned Internet networks. Each community is different and some places require a more active group of advocates to bring change. A group of citizens in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have been working to bring attention to their community’s need for better options for several years. Recently, they formed Upgrade Cambridge, as a way to share information and spread the word about their initiative for a publicly owned fiber optic network.

Organic Organizing

Local Saul Tannebaum has consistently led efforts to bring municipal fiber infrastructure to Cambridge. Tannenbaum is one of eight individuals that are on the Upgrade Cambridge steering committee. He recently told the Cambridge Day:

“This grew completely organically. Folks starting contacting me in January asking what was going on with broadband and how they could help. People pulled in others in their own networks and the effort just took off…The city already knows how the Broadband Task force feels about this. It’s time for them to hear from others.”

In 2014, the City Manager appointed the Cambridge Broadband Task Force, which developed recommendations that they presented in 2016; Tannenbaum was a member of the task force. According to the founders of Upgrade Cambridge, the lack of response from the City Manager is driving the formation of the group. They feel that if community leaders hear from everyday Cambridge citizens and realize the magnitude of the problem, city leaders will feel more compelled to act.

The city also hired a consultant who recommended that Cambridge develop a dark fiber network, but find a private sector ISPs to provide last mile connectivity to businesses and residents via the city owned fiber. Another recommendation from the consultant in 2016 was that the city provide last mile fiber only to the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) locations. The task force disagreed with these recommendations.

SoCal City, Manhattan Beach, Considers Building Muni Network

In southern California, the city of Manhattan Beach is considering creating a municipal broadband network to extend quality, affordable broadband to its residents and businesses.

Advocating for Quality Internet 

Talk of the network surfaced from Information Technology director Sanford Taylor’s "Fiber Master Plan." Beyond providing better broadband, the network would support “Smart City” projects: synchronized street lights, community cameras, and parking meters that allow drivers to find parking spots through an internet app.

Taylor previously worked for the city of Long Beach where he helped spearhead their fiber network. Municipalities typically pay exorbitant prices for large-scale high-speed Internet. Long Beach had been paying around $14,000 per month before Taylor transitioned from traditional ISPs to a wholesale option costing only $1,100 per month.

Nearby Santa Monica has had success with their publicly owned network, which connects businesses, community centers, and has helped improve the functionality of municipal systems like traffic signals and cameras. The Long Beach I-Net facilitates city operations by providing connectivity to municipal facilities but doesn't connect businesses or residents. A private firm, Inyo Networks, developed a citywide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in the nearby town of Ontario; Taylor and Public works director Stephanie Katsouleas have been studying the arrangement closely. They are also visiting other communities that are investing in publicly owned Internet infrastructure, including Beverly Hills.

Taylor issued a Request for Proposals recently and just that small signaling of network independence had ISPs scrambling, resulting in the city obtaining service through a different incumbent provider with more bandwidth at nearly half the cost.