Municipal Networks

The City of Dublin (OH) is announcing a new partnership with altafiber. The two parties will work to make Dublin the most connected city in the nation – by providing every premise in Dublin access to reliable, ultra-fast fiber. altafiber was selected following a “Request for Proposal” (RFP) process, seeking a partner to provide competitive access to internet service of 10 gigabits for all Dublin residents. The City of Dublin conducted various community surveys in recent years to determine residents’ experiences with their internet service.

Ten years ago, long before the unprecedented amounts of federal funding in rural Internet infrastructure, Roger Heinen watched Islesboro’s population drop precipitously. In 2014, Heinen formed a small volunteer coalition to come up with a solution for the island of under 600 year-round residents. In 2016, voters approved a $3.8 million bond to fund the construction of a fiber-to-the-premises infrastructure capable of speeds of 1 gigabit per second.

In Ammon, Idaho, every home has access to a fiber optic connection with 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds. It costs roughly $30 per month. And it’s not controlled by a single big company. Nine different providers can offer you that connection.

Block Island, located just 12 miles south of mainland Rhode Island, has launched a municipal broadband network in partnership with Sertex Broadband Solutions. Dubbed BroadbandBI, the gigabit fiber network will power the town of New Shoreham, which has a population of roughly 1,000 people. New Shoreham initially struck a partnership with Sertex in 2017 to build a municipal broadband network serving community anchor institutions, such as schools, libraries, and hospitals. That network was completed in 2019.

June 2023 marks four years since the completion of backbone construction and lighting of all phases of the Westminster Fiber Network (WFN) project in Westminster, Maryland. Another milestone will soon be achieved: Subscriber growth will begin generating sufficient revenue for the city to cover the debt service on the general obligation bonds sold to finance the project.

Chattanooga, Tennessee, is considered ahead of the game with multi-gig connectivity, as in 2022 it introduced citywide 25-gig service for consumers and businesses.

Colorado repealed the referendum requirement for community broadband projects with the passage of Senate Bill 183. Support came from all sides, including the cable industry, which was neutral on the legislation. But there was another reason for the timing: federal broadband funding. The Colorado Broadband Office wasn’t sure if communities that hadn’t opted out would be eligible for a piece of the up to $1 billion in federal broadband funds Colorado could receive.

Our broadband internet connection at home must be as rock-solid and dependable as any other utility.

The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill that brings poles under state jurisdiction for any electric cooperative that elects to enter the broadband business.

Patrick Redmond, Nebraska’s interim broadband director, described his workspace as “an office of one.” Given the Nebraska Broadband Office was just created in January 2023, he said “there’s a big learning curve” in tackling the broadband landscape. One order of business is to get the state’s broadband maps up and running. Redmond said Nebraska has been working with a vendor since February 2023 to develop a map prototype.