HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-23-15 Silvestri Community Broadband NetworkFrom: Kenneth Silvestri
To: Agenda
Subject: Community Broadband Network
Date: Friday, January 23, 2015 4:35:54 PM
RE: Community Broadband Network
Dear Honorable Members of the Bozeman City Commission,
I am writing this email to express my support for investing in our economic future
with a community broadband network. As you may know, the current options for
Internet access are inadequate for keeping up with the current and growing future
needs of small and large businesses, Bozeman public schools, local governments,
Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, and Bozeman residents. Because of minimal
competition among providers and concerns about profitability of investing in a fiber
optic network, I fear local providers of Internet access will not provide the type of
network infrastructure for the 21st
century, thus leaving Bozeman at a competitive
disadvantage in attracting businesses that bring middle class wages to the area,
restricting the ability of existing small and large businesses to grow their operations,
restricting the ability of medical providers to implement the latest cost saving
healthcare IT infrastructure, and, more importantly, possibly prevent area students
from benefitting from the latest educational technology applications that can
enhance their ability to learn and grow both academically and professionally.
After hearing about Mr. Fontenot’s plan, this is an extraordinary opportunity to shore
up a vitally important piece of infrastructure for the community to thrive and
compete economically in a world that is increasingly dependent upon technology.
With mechanisms in place to keep costs low to the city for building such a network,
this is a viable way to provide affordable access and speeds to meet the current and
future needs of businesses, institutions, and, eventually, for residents. His plan
strategically and smartly includes granting access to existing and new providers to
stimulate competition for lower prices and uses city resources and powers wisely to
build the network efficiently and with cost savings.
For me personally, the current network options from local providers barely meet the
needs of my two job-related uses of the Internet, one being teaching online that
requires faster upload speeds for media content and connectivity speeds to hold
reliable real-time conferences and meetings with students. My other profession
requires me to conduct similar operations with a company I work for based out of
Asia. In the future, I am considering creating my own consulting business for
instructional design and technologies, which will most likely require a fiber optic
network connection, but I wish to remain in Bozeman to operate that business and
raise a family because it is such a wonderful place to live, therefore a community
broadband network that is affordable through stimulating provider competition is
critical to that future as well as the future of many small businesses and key
institutions in the area.
In sum, this is a sensible plan to build a community broadband network with low
costs that are far exceeded by robust benefits for the community’s future. As a
citizen with a vested interest in this community and this project, I strongly urge the
City Commission to vote in favor of this plan and to fund it.
Respectfully yours,
Kenneth Silvestri