County to pay for half of fiber optic feasibility study
June 10th, 2010Sibley County Commissioners approved, on Tuesday, paying up to $40,000 to help fund a feasibility study for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project. The funds come from TIF reimbursement from the City of Gaylord.
Up to $40,000 matching grant money will be provided by the Blandin Foundation. The feasibility study is expected to cost $60,000.
FTTH project would provide homes, schools, and businesses in the county with access to high-speed Internet access.
The feasibility study would provide the following information:
• Cost of the project
• What the user charges would be
• How many subscribers would be needed to fund the project
• How it would be operated
• What services could be provided
“The schools already have some pieces in place so it would be nice to see if these pieces could be connected,” commissioner Jim Swanson commented. “With all the cities in the county involved, it is a good partnership. We would be remiss if we don’t do a feasibility study.”
Fiber optic has business, medical and educational applications.
According to Bill Coleman of Community Technology Advisors, who recently addressed the Gaylord Technology Committee, most telephone and cable companies will not run fiber optic systems to rural Minnesota because they are looking for a quick return on their investment. Running fiber systems to rural areas will cost a lot more than a system in the metro and will not generate as much revenue.
Many rural communities are realizing the only way to get the Internet service they need is to build the network themselves.
Fiber optic networks are cheaper, faster and more symmetrical in upload and download speeds when compared to broadband. Fiber download and upload speeds are 1 gigabyte.
According to Coleman, there are two plans—a Minnesota plan and an FCC plan—to get broadband to every Minnesota home. However, the Minnesota plan calls for only 10 megabyte download and 5 megabyte upload speeds. The FCC plan will have 100 megabyte download and 50 megabyte upload speeds—considerably slower than a fiber optic system offers.
It is expected that a consultant will be selected by mid-July and the study completed by October or November.
If the project moves forward, likely a Telecommunications Cooperative will be formed for the purpose of making decisions for the participating communities.
By Elizabeth Reishus
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:27 pm
[...] You can draw parallels to this new cooperative movement with the active municipal telecom movement, which has been going on for years, where municipalities are building telecom networks. Increasingly, the lines between municipals and cooperatives are blurring as some municipalities are studying whether to form cooperatives to offer broadband services. [...]
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
[...] on Sibley County’s plan for a feasibility study for keeping me in the know. According to the Gaylord Hub… Sibley County Commissioners approved, on Tuesday, paying up to $40,000 to help fund a [...]