Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 4, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 19 Stories Information News Trends Ideas Meet our editorial team, and network with your neighbors! On t he R o a d On t he R o a d O n t h e R o a d Take the lead in your region, and join your business community by attending a networking reception with local business owners and executives. e HBJ hosts receptions in distinct regions of Greater Hartford in order to bring together each region's business community for networking and to exchange ideas. Here's your chance to meet the Hartford Business Journal Editorial Team, share your story ideas, and connect with professionals from around the region. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be provided. Register for this FREE event online by visiting www.HartfordBusiness.com and clicking "Our Events." Or contact Amy Orsini at 860.236.9998 ext. 134 or email aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com In Print. Online. In Person. www.HartfordBusiness.com Delivering Business. Hartford Date: May 20, 2015 • Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm Location: The Hartford Club 46 Prospect Street, Hartford • Cost: Free Greg Bordonaro, Editor Brad Kane, Managing Editor Gregory Seay, News Editor Matt Pilon, Digital Producer Event Sponsor: from page 1 efforts to develop a service private industry already offers, especially when the cost- structure still is unknown and market demand remains low. "It is putting taxpayers at risk," said Paul Cianelli, president and CEO of the New Eng- land Cable & Telecommunications Associa- tion, which represents companies like Cox Communications, Comcast, Charter Commu- nications, and Time Warner. "If, however, they want to create the network with some private company, we don't have a problem with that." The plan advocated right now by the OCC, state comptroller, State Sen. Beth Bye (D-West Hartford), and West Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford develops a public-pri- vate partnership where municipalities can opt-in to lay the necessary fiber infrastruc- ture to achieve gigabit speeds. Initially, 46 cities and towns partnered with OCC on a request for qualifications to find a private partner in this venture, and more than 100 municipalities have expressed interest in the service, Katz said. Monday's meeting at Yale will try to determine how many municipalities are ready to actually sign onto a public-private partnership. Business groups like NECTA and the Connecticut Business & Industry Associa- tion — along with companies like Frontier Communications — have resisted efforts to establish one statewide public organization dedicated to creating broadband networks, or all the municipalities being forced to use one vendor for fiber installation. "We want to partner with municipali- ties on these projects, and in no way do we think municipalities going it alone is the right approach," said Ken Arndt, president of Fron- tier's east region. "We will continue to work and hopefully get some gig projects started in the state very quickly." Cianelli said Con- necticut residents and businesses can access gigabit speeds already, either by tapping into nearby infrastructure or con- tracting to have the fiber built out to them. This process is costly though, he said. Katz estimates Connecticut busi- nesses currently pay $1,500-$3,000 per month to access gigabit speeds; her goal is to reduce that price down to about $70 per month. Achieving that price is a major concern for groups like CBIA because they don't want tax- payer money to subsidize the service, said CBIA lobbyist Eric Brown. A gigabit network is a lot more complicated than building a road, Brown said, and will need an organization to maintain the infrastructure after the initial installation costs are covered. "Who is going to be on the hook for paying for that?" Brown said. The state legislature's Government Admin- istration & Elections Committee recently approved a bill to create a statewide Office of Broadband Advocacy at the OCC to push for gigabit speeds throughout Connecticut. That new office would help municipalities set up the necessary public-private structure to achieve gigabit speeds, but the final decision- making still would rest with the towns, Katz said. The 46 municipalities that partnered in the early stages of gigabit development selected MacQuarie Capital in April to develop a public- private partnership option for cities and towns because its one of the few proposals submitted in January to offer a financing option. Under MacQuarie's proposal, the invest- ment bank would provide capital under a 20- or 30-year agreement to install the neces- sary infrastructure to achieve gigabit speeds. MacQuarie would have all the liability on the debt, and municipalities would be obligated to make long-term payments for the installa- tion and operation of the network. To repay the debt, municipalities would contract with Internet service providers like Comcast or Frontier to use the fiber infra- structure to sign up business and residential customers for gigabit speeds, said Bill Vallee, broadband policy coordinator at the OCC. However, if service providers don't want to use the infrastructure or don't raise enough money to meet debt payments, local taxpayers would ultimately have to foot the bill, Vallee said. This, though, is just one option for municipalities to install the necessary infra- structure for gigabit speeds and individual towns must decide if they have enough busi- nesses and residents to make such an invest- ment worthwhile, said Bye, the state senator. "Right now, cities and towns are doing economic impact studies," Bye said. Monday's Yale conference will feature speakers from the Federal Communica- tions Commission, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a national communications law firm to help cities figure out if a gigabit network is suited for them and what pricing model they should pursue, Bye said. "It is obviously better if we figure out a few cities to try it out initially," Bye said. Connecticut is fortunate because its regula- tory structure is favorable to the kind of partner- ship MacQuarie envisions, Bye said. In particu- lar, Connecticut allows municipalities to use part of utility poles for infrastructure like fiber, and pole owners are required to make space for new wires under uniform pricing, so the state can avoid the fights over utility pole use that have hindered telecom advancement in other states. While the need for faster Internet speeds is growing, Cianelli warned that more web data is being processed by wireless net- works. With WiFi technology advancing, towns might not want to develop their fiber infrastructure, he said. Katz, though, said many high-tech busi- nesses need ultra-high-speed Internet now and more will in the future. n Telecom cos. question gigabit demand Ken Arndt, president, Frontier Communications east region

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