For those wondering if all of Bridgeport would eventually have access to super high speed internet that started earlier this year as a pilot program, at least a partial answer came today. This afternoon, the Bridgeport Development Authority approved a resolution for a $5 million state loan that is aimed at providing “gigabit broadband” to all parts of Bridgeport.

 

The roots for this began in August of 2014 when City Manager Kim Haws first announced a pilot project that would connect city residents to the Internet at speeds up to 200 times faster than they currently utilize in a selected area of roughly 100 homes. City Council provided approval for the pilot project and $100,000 in startup money for the project. The project was labeled “Gigaport” and began earlier this year with installation to homes in the pilot area.

 

“In the first five months we’ve had a very positive response from the community,” said Mayor Robert “Bob” Greer, who sits on the Development Authority.

 

The response comes from homes along Johnson Avenue near the Bridgeport Public Library. Greer said more than 30 percent of the homes are now utilizing the super high speed internet service provided by Citynet in the pilot area.

 

Now, Citynet will be the party that works on a loan from the West Virginia Economic Development Agency that the Bridgeport Development Authority will be party to. The city agency will serve as a pass-through agency if the “Fiber to the Home (FTTH)” loan is approved by the WVEDA. Greer said Citynet would be responsible for paying off the loan through subscriptions of the service by both residential and commercial customers.

 

“There would be no drain on city infrastructure. As proposed, Citynet would own the infrastructure. It really conserves city resources,” said City Attorney Dean Ramsey.

 

Ramsey also said the WVEDA, if they eventually approve the loan, could decide that the money could come from other agencies such as the West Virginia Infrastructure Council. He also said they may only agree to allow the city to own the infrastructure once it’s completed. Ramsey said there are many directions the loan application could take, including rejection.

 

According to City Clerk Andrea Kerr, her goal is to have the application completed by start of June for consideration at a future WVEDA meeting.  If approval is eventually given that meets with the satisfaction of all parties, don’t expect the high speed internet to be available immediately. It will likely be more than a year before large parts of the city begin to have access to the new service.

 

Greer pointed to the success of the pilot project as a key reason to move forward. He said the numbers are in line with what is needed for the project to work on a city-wide basis and that the pilot area “provided a good cross section of the city’s demographics.”

 

“If the city does this alone, it’s going to be a slow process. The loan program would allow the entire city to be addressed in one fell swoop,” said Greer. “ … This way we don’t have to keep coming back to Council to approve every new little piece that we add.”

 

Greer added that any entity would have been welcome to make a similar application, but that no one has come forward. He also said he believes there is interest in Charleston to have a city in West Virginia become a “gigabit city.” Right now, there are no cities in the Mountain State that meets those criteria.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Mayor Robert "Bob" Greer, while Attorney Dean Ramsey makes a point in the middle photo. Bottom photo shows BDA Chairman John Stogran signing the resolution for the loan application.