RUFFIN PREVOST Billings Gazette | Posted: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:00 am
CODY - TCTWest, a telecommunications company based in Basin, has approached Cody city government seeking to offer fiber optic telecommunications services to nearly every home and business in the city.
The high-speed network would offer telephone, TV and Internet services over a fiber optic connection, with data speeds 10 to 30 times faster than current offerings, said Chris Davidson, the company's general manager.
Davidson said TCT offers such bundled services for about $100 a month in other communities it serves around the Bighorn Basin.
"Even for the people that aren't looking for faster Internet connectivity, adding another competitor into the market always brings the price down," said Davidson.
Services offered by TCTWest would be in addition to those already provided through Bresnan Communications and Qwest, both of which already serve customers in Cody.
Davidson said the service would offer faster Internet speeds "and generally would save a lot of customers a few dollars, and simplify things by having it all on one bill."
He said the company is seeking a non-exclusive franchise to offer the service to Cody residents in hopes of securing a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utility Service program.
Under that plan, the company would be required to build a network that made the service available to virtually every home or business within the city limits, he said.
Davidson said another option for building the network would be for TCTWest to finance the venture internally, rolling service out in selected sections of the city, with a goal of eventually making it available to all.
"We're committed to getting it to everyone, even if it takes longer and we have to pay for it ourselves," he said.
Though he was open to the idea of a municipally owned network in Cody like one being proposed in Powell, Davidson said the options he discussed with Cody City Administrator Andy Whiteman involved TCTWest owning the network.
Advocates of the Powell fiber network have said it would bring expanded economic development opportunities to the community.
Eleutian, a Ten Sleep distance learning company, has recently begun hiring teachers in Powell to help teach English to students in South Korea using high-speed Internet video teleconferencing.
Whiteman said existing network operators Qwest and Bresnan Communications do not appear interested in offering fiber to the home.
"They tell me the market is such that they won't be doing it any time soon," he said.
A representative from Bresnan Communications said the company does not have plans to offer fiber to the home.
Jennifer Barton, a spokeswoman for Qwest, said the company focuses "technology deployments where demand is greatest, where it is technically feasible and where the concentration of potential customers served can support the investment."
She said Qwest has no plans for offering fiber to the home in Cody, but would be "receptive to looking at what the city is asking for in terms of services."
Whiteman said a preliminary meeting last week with TCTWest focused on learning about the company's plans and the potential costs and benefits of the proposed venture.
Whiteman said the proposal appears "revenue neutral," neither costing nor earning the city substantial funds beyond its existing agreements with TCTWest.
The company currently operates a WiFi network in downtown Cody that caters to summer tourists, and fixed wireless Internet services for homes and business in and around the city.
The proposed fiber optic network might help spur economic development and keep customers' telecommunications dollars going to a Wyoming company, Whiteman said.
He said the next step would be to discuss with City Council members whether they were interested in pursuing the idea, which could involve some inconvenience from project construction.
The city might also need to hire attorneys who specialize in telecommunications law to examine the plan, Whiteman said.