HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-23-15 Fulton A Letter Regarding Open Access FiberFrom: Brit Fontenot
To: Jeff Krauss; Carson Taylor; Cyndy Andrus; Chris Mehl; I-Ho Pomeroy
Cc: David Fine; Stacy Ulmen; Chris Kukulski
Subject: FW: A Letter Regarding Open Access Fiber
Date: Friday, January 23, 2015 1:23:50 PM
Mayor and Commissioners,
Please see the letter of support below.
Brit
City of Bozeman MT
Brit Fontenot | Director of Economic Development
406.579.1302
www.bozeman.net
Find us on Facebook!
From: Agenda
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2015 1:20 PM
To: Brit Fontenot
Subject: FW: A Letter Regarding Open Access Fiber
From: eric@subsectorsolutions.comOn Behalf OfEric Fulton
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2015 1:19:42 PM (UTC-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada)
To: Agenda
Subject: A Letter Regarding Open Access Fiber
Dear Mayor Krauss,
I'm writing you today regarding the City of Bozeman's proposed fiber project. We appreciate
the city being open in its planning process and its willingness to communicate with private
Internet Service Providers like us at Treasure State Internet. We are excited for the
possibility of a municipal open access network in Bozeman, and should it happen we would
most likely work to provide service over the network.
Treasure State Internet is also embarking on a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project and
understands the difficulty of your project. It may seem odd that we're embarking on similar
projects, yet we don't see the city network as competition. We see the city's open-access
network as opportunity in the same way a road provides opportunity to traditional business,
something businesses can compete on while providing overall better service to the consumer.
Having one neutral entity maintain optic cables in a city has tangible benefits. One of the
more visible benefits is the reduction of cables cluttering our beautiful town and skyline.
Currently each phone/cable/Internet provider has to place their own lines to provide service;
this situation lends to overbuilding, too many cables, and a lack of competition. Treasure
State Internet is often asked why we don't use the existing fiber in the ground or on phone
poles. We must reply that it's not ours and that we have to build our own fiber to their
building, even if fiber already exists. This is wasteful overbuilding and adds to the existing
cable blight. However, if the city of Bozeman were to not install fiber we most certainly
would -- but don't let this idea stand as a blockade to a citywide open access network.
An open access network benefits Bozeman. It benefits small business owners, home owners,
and the community at large. Most importantly it doesn't compete with private business.
Rather, it gives businesses the ability to provide even better service to Bozeman's residents.
We urge you to review the broadband plan and move forward with an open access network.
Best Regards,
Eric Fulton & Matt Gorecki
Founders, Treasure State Internet
eric@tsi.io
matt@tsi.io