“Gigaport” has officially been launched. Thirty-three households in a designated residential area have signed up for the super high speed Internet that could prove to be up to 200 times faster than typical Internet service. If the residential customers are pleased with the service, others from throughout the city may soon have the chance to connect.

 

Back in August, City Council approved a $100,000 budget revision for the purchase of fiber-optic cable and other intangible equipment to put the pilot program in motion. About 100 homes in the Village, Vista, Valley and Ridgeway Drive areas were targeted to test the high-speed fiber network. The city purchased the equipment to provide the one-gigabit-per-second Internet service and Citynet took responsibility of providing the infrastructure to extend the fiber optic cable to the designated homes and  take care of maintenance. At the end of an approximate six-month period, Citynet will compile and study data, thereafter making a recommendation to Council whether or not to implement the service citywide.  To date the City has spent approximately $75,000 on equipment to power the project.

 

Monday night, Citynet President/CEO Jim Martin provided City Council with an overview of the project thus far. Extreme winter weather has somewhat hindered the hanging of fiber-optic cable and the installation of equipment, but 22 of 33 signed-up households are now up and running with eight more slated for connection this week.

 

“To date, no one has been billed,” Martin said. “We want to make sure service is up and functioning and that everyone is satisfied. We’ll send out the first set of bills in April.”

 

The service is being offered at $75 per month, which includes unlimited Internet of up to 1Gb (or 1,000Mb) of Internet bandwidth (speed), with the round-the-clock support of dedicated field techs. Citynet is also including unlimited local and long distance phone service as part of the offering.  All revenue collected from the project will go directly to the City.

 

Thus far, Martin said the project has been a success.

 

“We’re at 33 customers without much advertising and we think that over the next couple of weeks, people will see the trucks and start talking with the potential customer base,” he said. “We want to continue to work with those potential customers and get feedback.”

 

Martin pointed out that Citynet installs the fiber-optic cable and customers provide their own routers.  

 

“What we’ve found is that a good percentage of those folks have routers that aren’t capable of going faster than 100 megabits,” he said. “Some of the older equipment is a little overwhelmed with what we’re providing. There aren’t going to be any issues with the speed of the wireless, but just what the router can handle.”

 

A gigabit router can be purchased in the neighborhood of $100, Martin said.

 

The company is also developing a list of frequently asked questions to help guide customers through the process.

 

“We’re also working on a demo unit at City Hall so folks can come in, see a computer which is set up and give it a try,” Martin said.

 

Ultimately, Citynet will conduct surveys and get feedback, determining whether or not the program has been successful. City Council can expect a report at a July meeting or shortly thereafter.

 

As the network grows, Internet speeds could increase and cost could decrease, Martin said.

 

Mayor Robert Greer commended Martin and Citynet representatives Drew Pomeroy, Ben Randolph, Roy Williamson and Steve Peters -  also on hand for the presentation – for a quality job.

 

“I look forward to hearing positive results during your next report,” he said. 

 

Martin reported that a similar program has been launched in Snowshoe where 50 megabits – and soon to be 100 megabits – of service is being offered. That program, too, is being operated out of Bridgeport and is seeing positive results. 

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Citynet President/CEO Jim Martin presenting a report to Council Monday night. Also pictured is a Citynet crew preparing to install equipment in the area of Village, Valley, Vista and Ridgeway Drive.