[1st-mile-nm] Portland, OR: Fiber Report

[Richard Lowenberg]

Portland, OR City Council receives FTTP report

http://tinyurl.com/2jcace

Friday, November 16, 2007
City moves forward with broadband considerations
Portland Business Journal

Portland's City Council continues to mull whether the city should
participate in a system that would bring high-speed Internet services to
more residents.

However the commission must resolve whether the city should effectively
fund the system through bonds or other means, enter a public-private
partnership with a service provider or work to bring in a private firm to
build the system.

"We're still looking at what it would take to do this with city
involvement," said Brendan Finn, chief of staff for City Commissioner Dan
Saltzman, whose office is leading the fiber network charge. "We think
we've demonstrated the need for this."

A report delivered to commissioners yesterday by researchers studying
Portland's fiber prospects recommended that the city gauge private sector
interest in helping build a broadband fiber network.

The network would deliver data speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second to
homes and businesses; the city believes the system would compete with
those offered by such incumbent broadband providers as Qwest
Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA).

The report contained several ideas on ways to reduce system costs and
infrastructure questions. One idea is to tie West Coast cities together
with fiber, which could result in lower build-out prices thanks to the
potential economies of scale.

City staff could also explore the idea of installing fiber as it works on
other infrastructure projects, such as road and sewer work.

Qwest and Comcast officials have blasted the idea, arguing that
jurisdictions have no place in the communications business.

Commissioners generally agree though that residents would realize benefits
from the system, called fiber-to-the-premises. They say customers would
enjoy speeds ranging from four times to more than 12 times faster and 20
percent less expensive that those offered by commercial providers, which
charge up to $100 per month for cable and Internet.


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Richard Lowenberg
P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110,  505-603-5200 cell

New Mexico Broadband Initiative
www.1st-mile.com/newmexico
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