The council has given $25,000 in initial investment to draw up a business plan.
It would see facilities in the city able to exploit more opportunities in the marketplace, according to Allen Davis, the president of Community Broadband LLC.
The business plan will be compiled and published by the middle of next month to accompany the five-year financial model and implementation plan already set before the council.
PTC Manager, Jim Pennington said it would reduce the city's reliance on the current services from Comcast and NuLink.
The plan received council approval on April 2, with Pennington saying:
“We want to see what the business plan looks like. It would connect city facilities with a fiber system and could expand to commercial.”
He said the commercialization of the product would increase its feasibility and benefit to the city, explaining:
“To make it work financially it would have to be a public-private partnership.”
The complete development plan for the project will include financial projections for installing the infrastructure, and then connecting it to municipal facilities before rolling it out to private businesses.
Pennington went on to indicate the council's willingness for the project to succeed, citing other cities with their own broadband systems.Get a Free Quote for Print