Latest on Gigabit City
Status Update
The city of Lexington has a project team working to make our community a gigabit city. Being a gigabit city means that residents and businesses can access the Internet at download speeds of 1 gigabyte/second. To download data at gigabit speeds, Lexington will need an infrastructure of optical fibers. The copper cables currently available do not have the capacity to deliver this speed. For additional background on this topic, please read an earlier blog post by clicking here.
Since the last update, Lexington’s Chief Information Officer Aldona Valicenti has participated in a meeting of the United States Department of Commerce’s Broadband Opportunity Council. The Council released its report and recommendations on August 20, 2015, which you review by clicking here. The project team has since been working to identify the variables, opportunities, and weigh the interests for a fiber build-out. Council began to review one opportunity with the middle mile project on October 20, 2015. It is discussed in greater detail below. The next product of this work will be a recommendation to the mayor and city council.
Digital Equity
One consideration in a fiber build-out recommendation is digital equity. Digital equity refers to making the opportunities of technology available to all members of the community, particularly those who are under-served and/or underrepresented. You can review Seattle’s work on this issue by clicking here. Equitable fiber network build-outs often positively correlate to the amount of public investment in a project. Public investment allows for public interests to have greater weight in the build-out of a fiber network. In contrast, an exclusively private build-out may only serve more affluent neighborhoods or subdivisions. Providing access in an equitable manner means that common interests are advanced. For example, fiber networks can better help households acquire educational content and even increase the value of homes, outcomes which enhance Lexington’s common wealth.
Middle Mile
An opportunity the team is considering is the KentuckyWired Middle Mile project. This is a state government project that is funding fiber optic cables that will help wire the state of Kentucky, which currently ranks 42nd out of the 50 states in connectivity. “Middle mile” often—and in this case—refers to the work of connecting the networks of small towns to high speed carriers, serving as the middle or bridge between the two. In Kentucky, the middle mile will connect to specific anchor institutions—KCTCS, K-12, universities, and libraries. This state-level fiber optic project connects to eastern Kentucky through Lexington. This middle mile development represents a significant opportunity for Lexington because the city is able to piggyback on the state’s infrastructure work for our fiber needs. As was discussed at the October 20, 2015 work session, Lexington is planning to add fiber dedicated to our city to the fiber being built by the state. The city must pay for the cable, rather than the work of digging the trench and other accessory costs. It’s a significant opportunity for cost savings, and it helps pave the way for our gigabit city infrastructure in a manner that complements the work of the state government.
If you would like to connect with a community of gigabit city enthusiasts, please check out the Advocates of Gigabit Internet in Lexington, KY Facebook Page by clicking here.
If you would like to receive email issue updates on Council news from Vice Mayor Steve Kay, please sign up here.
