Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 891 |
| Work Detail | Efforts to bring high-speed fiber internet to every corner of the city are gearing up, as Davis is preparing its first request for proposals for a consultant to lay out what options are on the table. The Davis City Council is slated to hear an update on the internet improvements at its meeting Tuesday, the first following a monthlong summer break. Aging internet infrastructure has been a point of frustration for residents and businesses alike for several years, as locals argue that the current system of copper and coaxial cables is covering less and less of the city’s broadband needs. The latest and greatest improvements on the market are fiber internet connections. Fiber connections use micron-thin glass strands and light to send information at unprecedented speeds. Instead of the 25- t0 100-megabyte-per-second connections typically offered in internet packages, the new system could see 1 gigabyte per second of service in each home. The largest question right now is figuring out how to get there. After months of working with the Broadband Advisory Task Force, the city is on the cusp of sending out a request for proposals to have a consultant lay out what options are out there for citywide broadband service. The process is expected to take about six months and incur $200,000 in costs, which will come from cable franchise fee funds. “Nothing is ruled out at this time,” said Diane Parro, the city’s chief innovation officer, who is spearheading the effort. The new broadband study is expected to cover everything from engineering and constructing the physical infrastructure, to building a new internet network for the city. The new internet infrastructure would be an asset to residents, university affiliates and businesses alike. As businesses looking to relocate in Davis approach Parro — whose work centers on local innovation and economic vitality — internet service is one of the first questions they tend to ask, Parro said. “While we certainly aren’t in the worst shape in our region, we did already have a business move out of Davis (citing) lack of affordable broadband as a key reason for moving,” Parro said. The city is also being advised by DavisGig, a nonprofit arm of Davis Community Network that has been advocating to bring fiber to Davis since December 2014. In the past, DavisGig pushed for a community nonprofit model where the city would run the physical infrastructure, and lease it out to independent internet service providers (ISPs) that could drive down costs while preserving high speeds. This open-access model is one of three business models that the study will take into consideration. The study also will look at the feasibility of the city owning and running the new fiber network and the feasibility of entering into a public-private partnership to fund and operate the new internet program. As other services, such as Google Fiber — high-speed fiber-optics provided by Google — have been sweeping the country, advisory committee chair Christopher Clements said the model may not fit exactly the expectations the city may have. “There is one thing for sure, the data speeds that people want and need today are not what they will be in two years, three years or 10 years,” Clements said. “The real key is for the city to build a network that can provide for today’s needs and scale with the increasing demands over time.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/internet-improvements-to-go-before-city-council/ |
