It's Here: Super High Speed Internet Beginning to Find Way into Bridgeport Homes; Residents Excited
By Jeff Toquinto on January 24, 2015 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
For Bridgeport’s Jay Krohe, a substantial amount of the time with his work related to software requires him to be on the road. A lot of the remaining time requires him to do work out of his home on Valley Drive.
“Maybe about 50 percent of my work in the house involves me using the internet and sometimes that involves doing software 
demonstrations over the internet, particularly when I’m working with bank clients,” said Krohe. “As you can imagine, concerns with problems over the internet have been very real for me. I need high speed, efficient internet to do a lot of my work and it’s not always reliable.”
demonstrations over the internet, particularly when I’m working with bank clients,” said Krohe. “As you can imagine, concerns with problems over the internet have been very real for me. I need high speed, efficient internet to do a lot of my work and it’s not always reliable.”
When the City of Bridgeport announced it was teaming up with Bridgeport-based Citynet to become West Virginia’ first “gigabit broadband” project, Krohe was intrigued. When he found out that it would likely be able to provide internet service up to 200 times faster than what he was currently receiving he said he got excited.
“When I found out about it, I was really excited. When I found out that my street on Valley was among the 100 or so residential homes that would be part of the initial, I guess you would call it a pilot program I was even more excited,” said Krohe. "I'm so excited I've got my family excited about it."
The program was announced in August by City Manager Kim Haws. At that time, he still needed approval to move forward with the pilot program 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 that approval and $100,000 in startup money for the project.
roughly 100 homes. City Council provided that approval and $100,000 in startup money for the project.
Earlier this month it was announced that the infrastructure work by Citynet was in place and that the first two homes were already tied in to the new high speed system. Now, it’s up to the residents to determine whether there’s enough interest to expand the program citywide by signing up to receive the service.
“We’ve spent the last month doing the infrastructure type of work. The entire physical network is in place now. We were waiting on electronics that came in that allowed us to complete the network installation, which is done,” said Citynet Senior Vice President Drew Pomeroy. “Now, it’s to the point where we’re hooking people up.”
This week, crews were beginning to hook up additional individuals that had signed up for the high speed internet. City Manager Kim Haws said at the most recent Bridgeport City Council meeting that early sign ups were encouraging and that he believed there would be enough interest that the data would show it to be sustainable.
Pomeroy said earlier this week that there were 26 residential units pre-registered and a total of 28 homes signed up. He said based on the early strong showing he anticipated that it would be creeping closer to 40 households signed up for the internet by the end of the month. Once an individual signs up, however, they don’t immediately receive the service.
“We have the infrastructure in place in the area, but we have to take it from where it’s been installed to the homes and that process is roughly four to five hours per home,” said Pomeroy. “The poles are in the backyards of a lot of residences and we’ll trench from the pole to someone’s house. From there, we follow the utility entrance to the house and then mount a piece of equipment inside to communicate back to the mothership so to speak.”
The project is expected to last through July 1. At that point, Citynet will provide data to the city on how many have signed up, how many opted to disconnect their service, if there are customer support issues and other items that may arise.
“The city will make the determination if it’s something they can do feasibly and cash flow it. We’ll pass the information to the city so they can make that decision,” Pomeroy said.
Homes that will be able to receive the service are located on parts of Valley, Village, Vista, Ridgeway and Johnson. Several other roadways have one or two homes on them that would be eligible to take part.
The cost of the service is $75 for unlimited usage. Residents can also opt for the $10 plan, which allows the internet user to utilize one gigabit per month.
“I’m paying $52 a month right now for my internet and most of the times during the day it’s adequate. But, if I’ve got two or three people in my house running their computers or it’s a peak time for use in the area – usually in the afternoon – it’s slow and it drags down,” said Krohe. “If I’m working, that has been and will continue to be a problem. Twenty more dollars for complete reliability is absolutely nothing for those who utilize internet. This is really something I hope everyone will realize is important to the community. I’m really looking forward to this because I’ve learned about it and it’s really fast.”
How fast? Residents will have the capability to download a full high-definition movie in less than 10 seconds and upload 1,000 photos in less than 30 seconds. That can’t be done with any current service available in Bridgeport.
Haws said residential streets were chosen because that is what will determine whether it’s sustainable. Businesses, he pointed out in the past, would almost certainly utilize the service, which would not provide a fair assessment if there was demand for it city wide.
Citynet will operate and maintain the network at no cost to the City. Click HERE for information on the project area, how to sign up and more.
Editor's Note: Citynet staff is shown looking over plans for installation on Valley Drive earlier this week, while Citynet Vice President Drew Pomeroy recently briefs the Bridgeport Development Authority in the second photo. City Manager Kim Haws, a huge proponent of the project and what it might mean for future economic development, is shown in the bottom photo.
