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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Yellow Springs, Ohio Eyes Next Steps After Successful Fiber Trial
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Yellow Springs, Ohio has been thinking about a city-owned fiber network since 2016, when the municipality issued its first white paper discussing its potential benefits.
Since then, the city has made steady inroads on making those plans a reality, recently culminating in a fiber pilot project currently being used by 100 local homes and businesses.
Launched in 2022, the pilot project currently offers locals two tiers of fiber access: A “standard tier” at a symmetrical 300 megabits per second (Mbps) for $45 a month, and a “premium” tier offering symmetrical gig speed service for $65 a month. There currently are no usage caps, long-term contracts, or installation fees.
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“Final pricing will be determined after the pilot project, and could be higher or lower depending on the ‘take rate,’ customer service offerings, and other knowledge gained from the pilot,” the project FAQ states.
Currently the fiber network covers roughly 600 potential homes around Yellow Springs, and was funded entirely via a $300,000 grant from Broadband Ohio. The city also provides free Wi-Fi via 12 Wi-Fi access points spread throughout the city’s downtown business district.
Like so many U.S. communities, Yellow Springs sees a dearth of meaningful broadband competition, resulting in spotty access, high prices, and substandard service.
Charter Communications (Spectrum) enjoys a monopoly over next-gen broadband access across the majority of the city. Some areas are peppered with sluggish and expensive AT&T DSL.
“The existing model of Internet service in our Village is old and outdated,” the city’s original whitepaper declares. “It is mostly operating on coaxial cable and very old copper telephone lines. Due to this older technology and over-subscription by carriers, data speeds are limited and in many instances do not meet the current FCC definition of ‘broadband’.”
While Yellow Springs hasn’t yet determined its next steps, comments made by some city officials at a city council meeting last month indicate the city is heavily considering some type of public-private partnership with Altafiber – previously known as Cincinnati Bell.
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“Based on our discussions with Altafiber … and the feedback we’ve gotten, it makes sense to work with them,” Council member Brian Housh told local news outlets, nodding to a recent collaboration between the telecom giant and neighboring Greene county.
While public-private partnerships can ease the financial and logistical burden on municipalities, it comes at a cost: namely a lack of community control over the coverage, trajectory and pricing of the finished network, especially if a muni doesn’t maintain direct ownership.
Nothing about an Altafiber deal has been finalized yet, Village Manager Johnnie Burns tells the Yellow Spring News that the local Broadband/Fiber Advisory Committee – which includes members from Village Council and community groups – will soon hold a meeting to discuss next steps, and a potential partnership with Altafiber or other service providers.
Inline image of downtown Yellow Springs courtesy of Niagara66, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
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