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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Westminster Muni Network Expanding
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Marking another big step forward, the mayor and Common Council of Westminster, Maryland (pop. 18,000) have hired a telecommunications, utility and government contracting firm to continue building the first two phases of the Westminster Fiber Network (WFN).
City Hires SMC
Westminster expects to complete this construction in 2017, providing Gigabit per second (Gbps) connectivity to an additional 2,700 homes and businesses in the western part of the community, according to a city news release. Cost of this phase is undetermined $21 million, Westminster marketing consultant Jason Stambaugh told us; the city will issue general obligation bonds to fund the entire cost of the network the expansion.
One year after Westminster celebrated lighting its municipal fiber network, the city hired SMC, Inc. to construct the expansion. Westminster is partnering with Toronto-based Ting to provide retail services via the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network.
“This expansion of the WFN is an important milestone and demonstrates the City’s continued commitment to revolutionize Internet access, bring local jobs, and drive innovation that will enable the community to thrive.”
Westminster began building its municipal fiber network in October, 2014, and entered into a public-private partnership with Ting in February, 2015. The city owns the infrastructure and Ting leases fiber to bring Internet service to businesses and residents. Westminster began its municipal fiber network, spending about $1.8 million to get the project started in a residential retirement community and an industrial park.
Bonds Back Fiber Network
Because of high demand, the City Council voted to expand the municipal fiber project, approving a $21 million general obligation bond agreement with SunTrust Bank.
As MuniNetworks.org reported last December:
“According to Common Council President Robert Wack, the bank’s willingness to buy the bonds came in part as a result of the proven high demand for fast, reliable, affordable, symmetrical fiber service in Westminster.”
Although the city doesn’t have hard numbers on the impact of the pilot program, there have been plenty of positive anecdotal reports, Stambaugh told us. He noted:
“One of our local businesses, Open Professional Group, has said that the Internet service he's able to purchase over the network through Ting is allowing his firm to save money on their monthly Internet bills and has drastically increased productivity. He's also noted that he's extremely proud of his Internet speeds. When clients come in for a visit, he'll often do a speed test to show off his new Gigabit connection.”
Currently, Westminster is in the midst of completing engineering and going through a competitive bidding process on the project, Stambaugh told us.
More on Westminster Fiber
We've published numerous stories on Westminster’s municipal fiber network. Just last month, we highlighted a Carroll County Times report about Westminster officials and the city’s fiber network partner, Ting, holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first Ting Makerspace, a service featuring 3-D scanning technology.
You can also learn more about the WFN by listening to episode #100 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Our Chris Mitchell talked with Dr. Robert Wack, the man who spearheaded the plan in Westminster. Learn more details about the partnership between Westminster and Ting by downloading our report, The Secrets Behind Partnerships to Improve Internet Access.
UPDATE: While the exact cost of this phase is yet to be determined, City Council documents reflect that SMC was hired to complete phase 1 and begin phase 2. The firm will be paid approximately $3.8 million. Strambaugh stressed that this expansion to 2,700 properties is a substantial percentage of the community’s 7,000 premises.
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