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Welcome to the City of Chanute!  Our community of 9,100 has an energetic, historic downtown charm, rich wildlife and parks, and a tremendous fiber optic broadband service for businesses and public organizations.  We are a full-service city, offering electric, gas, water, refuse, and wastewater utility services.  This public blog will post updates and answer questions on city-related projects and services.  Our goal is to provide timely and accurate information to you.  We have three blog guidelines:  1) Be safe, 2) Be respectful, and 3) Be productive.  If these guidelines are violated or if your comment is not related to the blog topic, it will not be published.  Thank you!

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Nov 12

Fiber to the Home

Posted on November 12, 2014 at 11:38 AM by Ken Morrison

I want to start off this blog with what could be the most important topic of the time for Chanute's future- A Fiber to the Home project.  Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is probably more accurately called Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) because the goal is to run fiber optic cable to as many homes and businesses as possible.  There is no question that installing FTTP will be an expensive investment.  There will be a lot of questions like- who gets it, how much will it cost, how long will it take to pay back, when will this happen, how do I use it, are there privacy concerns, is it worth it, can I live without it?

First, let me tell you a little bit about the fiber optics we already have in Chanute and why we developed it.

The Present
The City of Chanute started running fiber optic lines in the 1980's for the purpose of connecting our utility plants.  Because of the high reliability of fiber optics, the city continued expanding that fiber to include our anchor institutions- hospital, clinics, schools, community college, public safety services.  Major banks and businesses in Chanute have also seen the benefits of the high speed fiber optic network, and they have become important customers to leading to the expansion of Chanute's fiber optic service.

Now, let's consider what has changed and why we are considering expanding the services.

The Future
Technology has changed greatly since the 1980s and the need for more and faster internet speed continues to grow.  Is it time to run fiber optics to every home and business?  What are the public safety benefits?  What are the health benefits?  What are the educational benefits?  What are business benefits?  What are the innovation and economic benefits?  How much money will Chanute keep in town by offering the service internally instead of sending our monthly payments to outside cable companies?  What cost savings will our city gain by adding on automatic meter information, allowing residents and the utility departments to more efficiently conserve and control our energy use?  Can we afford it? And, an equally  important question, what will happen if we don't provide this service?

Comments

Tim Fairchild
December 17, 2013 at 1:03 PM
Can we see the cash flow analysis that shows the 7 year deficit? How will the cash to cover the deficit be produced? Thanks.
Tim Fairchild
December 17, 2013 at 1:04 PM
I am having trouble getting my notices to work. Thanks.
Rebecca Wood
December 18, 2013 at 9:19 AM
Tim- The cash flow analysis is part of the business model that was presented on Nov. 25, 2013. The video version is what I sent you on Dec. 7 (http://www.chanute.org/mediacenter.aspx?VID=122). A PowerPoint and pdf summary version can be viewed on the Fiber to the Home reports page (http://www.chanute.org/index.aspx?NID=581). A final report was received this week and is currently under review. The cash will come from sales of services to customers.
Rebecca Wood
December 18, 2013 at 9:22 AM
Tim- I believe that the time delay in your notice postings is due to the fact that the blog does not immediately post comments. I only see the two comments from you. Please give me a call if there were more. Thanks. Rebecca
Rebecca Wood
December 18, 2013 at 1:50 PM
From Randy Galemore via email: Does the city have a CELEC permit for operating our current fiber network? If not does the city plan on applying for the permit?
Rebecca Wood
December 18, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Randy- Chanute is not currently a telephone carrier and does not require approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to operate its current network. We would submit an application to the KCC for approval for it to become a competing local exchange carrier (CLEC) so that it could offer telephone services over its network if approved by the City Commission.
Rebecca Wood
January 8, 2014 at 10:22 AM
Only fiber to the home can meet the growing demand for broadband services. Learn what fiber broadband can do for your community: www.chanute.org/broadbandfallcommunitiesfall2013.

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