By a narrow margin of 213 votes, residents of Holland, MI have cast ballots in favor of citywide fiber-optic broadband infrastructure, reports The Center Square. The approval includes a budget of $30 million to be spent over the next 25 years. When complete, the network will provide 1-gigabit internet service speed to customers. It will also provide an open access network to private internet service providers.
The Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) expects to begin the installation in autumn 2023, and anticipates completing the project by 2025. According to the HBPW, the new system will provide better, cheaper internet service than the aging copper-based system with its limited bandwidth.
“We had an extended community outreach period with citizens, including a pilot project in our downtown area where a community-owned infrastructure is now available,” Holland City Manager Keith Van Beek told The Center Square. “The feedback we received from citizens is that they wanted a choice to have such a network, owned by the HBPW, that current internet providers and other private companies could utilize to provide more choice and competition.”
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Jarrett Skorup expressed skepticism for Holland’s plan, calling it “a bad deal.” He further noted, “The Holland broadband proposal asks all taxpayers to subsidize a network used by a few. The vast majority of government owned networks have failed and, indeed, for this one to be financially viable, it will have to have an unrealistic number of customers sign up.”
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