Recognizing the importance of staying connected, Bozeman, Montana declared broadband to be part of the city’s essential infrastructure. Resolution No. 5031 calling for expanded broadband capacity was recently passed by the City Commissioners, reports MuniNetworks.org. The full text of the resolution is available here.
The forward-thinking community created non-profit Bozeman Fiber in 2015.
The city installed 23 miles of the fiber optic network, bringing together both local businesses and schools. Bozeman Fiber President/CEO Greg Metzger said the non-profit has received requests from private citizens to connect to the network, a process that is cost prohibitive on an individual household basis. However, Metzger predicted current installation costs of $75 per foot would decrease to approximately $6 per foot, once citywide deployment of broadband is in place.
Bozeman Fiber has already proven its worth to local businessman Andrew Hull. His marketing company, Elixter, took advantage of the fledgling broadband connection and the results speak for themselves. The business that began with one employee currently employs a workforce of 50. Businesses will see additional benefits when Bozeman Fiber moves to increase connection speeds to 1000 Mbps (1 gigabit) / 50 Mbps or 1000 Mbps / 100 Mbps with no jump in price, according to MuniNetworks.org.
Efforts to keep Bozeman at the forefront of digital participation have been closely followed by the Bozeman Chronicle, which has been supportive of the city’s stance. Editors have noted, “Of the new priorities Bozeman city commissioners added to their strategic plan recently, perhaps none will prove to be more consequential than declaring broadband internet service to be essential infrastructure – just as important as streets, bridges and water and sewer systems.” Comments? Email Us.
May 1, 2019
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