An interesting confluence in events in Maine have resulted in what some are calling the "Maine model" of fiber optic networks that are available to multiple Internet Service Providers to encourage competition and high quality services. The CEO of GWI, Fletcher Kittredge, joins us this week to explain this model and where it is currently being implemented.

GWI is a local firm, rooted in Maine and focused on delivering high quality services with great customer support. It is working with Rockport (which we wrote about here and podcasted on here) and Islesboro (podcast here) as well as others.

Fletcher starts by telling us more about Maine's Three Ring Binder network and then goes on describe the dark fiber model, benefits of that approach, and how he thinks about public vs private ownership of the open access physical assets.

Read the transcript from this episode here.

Note: This podcast was posted a day late due to the very poor Internet connectivity at a retreat center in Minnesota. Thanks CenturyLink for a reminder why communities cannot rely on the national carriers to invest in modern infrastructure.

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Plans for a fiber network collaboration between the city, school district, and county will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in Stormlake, Iowa. The school district recently voted to take advantage of significant savings for connectivity by switching to the publicly owned infrastrucutre as soon as the network is ready.

The Storm Lake Pilot recently reported that under the current contract with Vast Broadband, the district pays $7,500 per month to lease two strands of fiber. The new arrangement will allow the district to lease 12 fibers from the city-owned network for $14,000 per year or $1,167 per month - a reduction of approximately 85 percent. The city and the school district will enter into a 10-year agreement to ultimately save the district a total of $760,000 or approximately $6,333 per month during the term of the lease.

The school will still need to pay for Internet access and as part of the agreement will be responsible for purchasing its own equipment. The School Board voted unanimously to approve the agreement.

As we reported in July, the Stormlake project began as a way to better communication between water and wastewater utility facilities but then evolved into a public safety and cost saving initiative. All three entities - Storm Lake Community School District, the City of Storm Lake, and Buena Vista County - anticipate considerable savings and heightened reliability. We expect to report on more public savings as the community uses this valuable fiber asset.

Project costs for the system of conduit and fiber, which does not include hardware, are estimated at approximately $1,374,000 to be shared by all three entities. This first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by December.

ONE Burbank, the dark fiber network that has provided connectivity for studios since 1997, is bringing a number of benefits to Burbank schools and taxpayers, reports the Burbank Leader. The network is saving public dollars, generating revenue, and providing better connectivity to schools and public facilities.

Five years ago, we reported on Burbank's asset and its primary customers - Hollywood studios. That trend has continued but now the network generates even more revenue. As a result, all electric customers served by Burbank Water and Power save with lower utility bills:

Last year, ONE Burbank generated $3.4 million in revenues for the utility, [General Manager Ron] Davis said in May. That’s compared to roughly $205,000 in 1997 and about $1.5 million five years ago, according to data Davis presented to the City Council.

“The bulk of that [$3.4 million] is all margin and helps keep electric rates down,” Davis said. “[We do] basically zero marketing and collect that margin.”

By connecting city facilities rather than leasing from a private provider, Burbank has all but eliminated past telecommunications expenses, lowering costs by 95% and saving, $480,000 in total thusfar. The school district has saved $330,000 since connecting to ONE Burbank.

ONE Burbank is also providing four times as much bandwidth to the school at a much lower rate that it once paid to the private sector, cutting its costs from $18,000 per year to $9,000 per year.

In August, Burbank Water and Power began using the dark fiber network as backhaul for free Wi-Fi service available throughout the city. There is no service level guarantee but it is open to any device:

“It’s just out there if you can get it,” Ron Davis, the utility’s general manager, told the City Council last week.

The dark fiber has helped retain and attract business, reports city leaders, and they want to continue the current trajectory to bring in high-tech companies and turn Burbank into a "Silicon Beach."

Louis Talamantes, president of Buddy’...

The New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA) expects to bring in over $900,000 over the course of the next ten years in revenue from dark fiber leases. The agreements, which allow private companies to access publicly owned dark fiber spanning the bridges, will also help maintain low tolls and allow regional telecom operators to expand their data transmission networks. The NYSBA announced on August 4 that it would be leasing dark fiber on two new bridges - the Bear Mountain and Rip Van Winkle bridges in upstate New York. These will be the third and fourth NYSBA bridges that generate revenue from fiber leasing.

The NYSBA dark fiber leasing program is now in its fifth year. Since the Authority does not receive any state or federal tax money for the operation and maintenance of its bridges, it has sought creative solutions to finance the upkeep of its infrastructure. It has now leased dark fiber on four of five intended bridges, with plans to lease more on a fifth - the Kingston­-Rhinecliff Bridge - in the near future.

In March, the Authority leased the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge to QCSTelecom, Inc. for $535,000. While such dark fiber leases are one-time fees, and usually last for at least ten years, the immediate benefit to the community takes the form of lower tolls for everyone who crosses the bridge. One editorial, posted in the Daily Mail, considered the locally-scaled benefits of the project:

Locally, we don’t have much to worry about from another toll hike in the immediate future. Although the lease won’t replace tolls as a principal source of revenue, it will help the bottom line and help keep tolls at current level. It’s clear that getting to the other side of the Hudson River can be costly over time and, as energy and transportation costs rise, we are not prepared for another toll hike. But with the success of the dark fiber leasing program, now in its fifth year, we can believe with some certainty that the drive to Columbia County won’t cost more.

The NYSBA’s strategy seems to be working at keeping tolls low - really low. Kathy Welsh reported in the Hudson Valley News Network that the $1.25...