Group asks Council to keep broadband study active
Caribou’s broadband coalition has requested a workshop with City Council members as a response to having their $46,500 broadband study shot down.
A workshop might help educate council members not keen to the idea of a city investing in internet communications infrastructure, according to City Manager Austin Bleess.
“The coalition believes in the need for better broadband to every resident and it’s an infrastructure thing like roads and bridges,” Bleess said.
The $46,500 price tag to do the study is a big turn off for council members, but Bleess feels the cost is well within the ballpark for a city of over 8,000 residents.
“The coalition strongly feels that doing a study and finding out the information and having the experts in the field tell you what the best way forward is going to be is the way to go, otherwise, you’re making decisions without having the knowledge that we could,” he said.
The coalition’s philosophy is that knowledge is power. The study would tell them what the best way forward is or else Caribou will continue to be at the mercy of what broadband options currently exist and “we can’t just sit back and wait,” Bleess said.
Earlier this year the coalition performed a survey and heard back from many folks who are dissatisfied with their current internet provider.
“Most of them wanted to see better broadband and faster speeds,” he said.
One survey came back from a realtor who explained that some homes don’t sell because they can’t get internet service at all.
There are a couple options when looking at improving broadband infrastructure for Caribou. There could be a municipally-operated broadband network (which some council members so far are against) or a partnership with a private sector service provider. The coalition is trying to figure out the best way from a fiscal standpoint how to achieve broadband speeds of at least 100mbs up and down for every household in Caribou, according to Bleess.
A complete study would also open doors to grants to help pay for better broadband for Caribou.
“I truly believe that this can have a strong economic development impact for our community,” Bleess said.
