Monticello Times: FiberNet a model citizen one year later

When the Minnesota State Supreme Court decided June 17, 2009, that it would not take up Bridgewater Telecom's (a subsidiary of TDS) appeal, it essentially lit a green light for Monticello's municipal fiber project, dubbed FiberNet Monticello.

In the year since, the effort to bring broadband to consumers in Monticello has brought about huge changes in telecommunications here. TDS, itself, decided to move ahead with a plan that would have brought its broadband to home in businesses in this decade (the 2010s) and completed its network in 2009, ahead of its new, municipal competitor.

FiberNet, meanwhile, put in a "backbone" during the appeals process, established a head-end building on the southwest side of town, and purchased an office complex in midtown (the former Prairie Professional Building) to house staff.

"I think one of the highlights of the last year for me was the army we were able to pull together in the days after June 17," said Fibernet chief Don Patten, an experienced communications adviser on loan to the community from Hiawatha Broadband Company, the firm Monticello hired to oversee the fiber project. "I think on July 5, or thereabouts, we were moving dirt and had things rolling. And a year later, here we are and we're about 60 percent complete with our build."

A lot of credit goes to the City of Monticello staff and the Monticello City Council, as well, said Administrator Jeff O'Neill, who has carried the torch for the project since voters gave the city the go-ahead with a vote in 2007.

"The move to go ahead with the head-end building and the initial fiber loop project ["Backbone," Patten chimed in] was a big risk for the council," O'Neill said. "But it showed a lot of vision. The decision to do that with the liquor store funds was key to getting this rolling once the legal issues were out of the way."

But there was damage done by the lawsuit filed by TDS, which Patten refers to as a "stall tactic" to this day. Some residents, who may not know the history of the legal proceedings, may think FiberNet is moving slowly along, especially given the time that has passed since that 2007 vote. Others think the city is moving ahead just out of spite, and don't feel the city should be mixing with regional enterprise.

"Should a city be delivering a communications network? I still don't feel that I know the answer to that question," Patten said. "But what I do know is the results are clear. Monticello has seen an unprecedented [he stressed the word] drop in costs. Incumbents don't lower their prices, or improve their product, unless they're forced to. So I try to stay away from the political side and look at this practically. The residents here can have some assurance that this was done right."

And it has been done quickly. Considering the ruling was handed down in June of last year, and the network was 60 percent installed by July of this year, FiberNet is on its way to completion by the end of this year, its original target.

"I think we got some pixie dust from Mother Nature when she brought the early thaw in March," Patten said. "We can't thank her enough."

And what makes the FiberNet project more extensive is the fact that MP NexLevel, the fiber installation firm contracted out of Maple Lake, is doing drops to any home that requests one. That's something the competitor did not do, as TDS adds lines from the backbone to a home or business (the drop) upon ordering of service.

"That was revision in our design, to offer complete connectivity," O'Neill said. "It wasn't something we originally set out to do, but during the legal process it was something we discussed and thought made sense."

It was an economies of scale decision, Patten added. Having crews in the neighborhood, it was cost efficient to keep them there to add lines to homes or businesses.

Those requests, by the way, can still be made online, even if a crew is no longer in your neck of the woods. Just check MonticelloFiber.com.

"Really, with that facet added in, this is a two to three-year project," Patten said. "And we're doing it in 18 months, offering the triple-play (Internet, television and phone) option. I am amazed, every day at the cooperation we've gotten from staff, our contractors and the people in Monticello to get this done."

The city is trying to recover some of those damages, as it's in litigation with TDS over the initial lawsuit. As Patten said, the delay cost money.

"A customer you missed out on a month ago, even if you have them this month, is lost revenue," he said. "So there is damage. We know of people who would have used our services but we couldn’t get in the ground. "

A technology leader

The move to broadband has made Monticello a leader when it comes to broadband in Minnesota, and nationwide. Just this week, the largest daily newspaper in the state outlined Monticello's battle for new technology in an opinion piece, calling the city's decision a "bold and worthy experiment."

It has drawn praise from both political aisles, as Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Michele Bachmann have both been introduced to the staff and looked at facilities. Franken went so far as to call it "exemplary" and wanted to use Monticello's work as proof broadband needs to be a national initiative.

Requests on evidence showing how Monticello did what it did, and continues to do what it set out to do, have poured in, Patten and O'Neill said.

"It's very flattering, and complimentary," Patten said. "It's important to note that Monticello had no manual to follow. They had to write the book. They had some similar cases to try to follow around the country, but nothing like this."

The difference is in the way Monticello strove to use a fiber network as a utility, as defined by Minnesota statute. The courts agreed, and a hookup to a communications network can now be assimilated to a water hookup.

"It's there when you build the house, or when you buy the existing home. It's not something you have to call and get," O'Neill said. "That's the major difference."

The state, and nation for that matter, haven't approached communications in that manner. But it's something that will need to change as Generation X moves into the mainstream.

"It's not something you live without anymore," Patten said of communications systems.

Another difference is in service, Patten and O'Neill said. FiberNet staff will visit with each customer, making sure the homeowner or business owner knows how to use the product before leaving the site.

"Really, the only limits to the product are user-end," Patten said. "If you have a 10-year-old computer, that's the limitation. Or your television. But we still want people to be able to use it, even with older technology. And we want them to know what they have in our product."

The future

The proof of FiberNet's success is still out there, but all signs are good. The "take rate," or the number of homeowners agreeing to have lines dropped to their home, is beyond business projections. And orders for home service are coming in quickly.

A huge milestone was reached last week, as FiberNet reached agreements with video providers to fill out its channel lineup. Now, mainstays such as MTV, VH1 and others that hadn't been part of the initial digital TV package are on board, and should be in place by the end of this week, Patten said.

A year from now, the two men said, FiberNet should be self-sufficient.

"There's been a lot of cooperation to this point," Patten said. "We've done this, and continue to do it, on a shoestring. But there's no point in bringing a bunch of people on that we won't need in a couple of years. So we've utilized the staff we have here within the city. And it's been a great, cooperative effort."

FiberNet has used the public works department, Economic Development Director Megan Barnett and O'Neill in particular to get things rolling. It has to, by law, bill for those city staff hours separately.

"We've worked them hard. But we've payed every cent," Patten said.

Will Patten be here much longer? That's for the city and HBC to decide, and soon. As the network gets up and running and things become established for FiberNet, it will go from a newborn to a young business (though municipally owned).

"It's interesting because HBC sees this as a portion of their company growth, and not a lot of companies in this business do that. I'm glad to be a part of that leadership. Monticello has really been a test bed for us - I'm wearing my HBC cap here - and we're now getting inundated with like-minded projects. So it's going to be part of the future. What happens to me, we'll see. We'll sit down and talk about that when we get there," Patten said.

Originally posted at http://monticellotimes.com/articles/2010/07/23/news/397fibernet.txt
(Created: Friday, July 23, 2010 3:05 PM CDT)