Adopting the article allows the town to join the WiredWest Cooperative and means that Florida will have a voice in the decision-making process as the nonprofit undertakes the capitalization, buildout and operation of a municipal fiber-optic network in participating towns.

One way to reduce the cost of fiberizing rural America is to utilize the farming community to bury plant on and adjacent to their own property.

Should the project be accepted, $13 million will be spent in our community—roughly $9 million of it grant money—to build a large-scale fiber-optic network for 88 anchor institutions such as hospitals, libraries, government offices, parks, and businesses.

Fiber optic would be delivered to homes and buildings at no cost, and service providers would offer service such as cable or Internet through the network.

This move is part of Frontier’s goal to provide 85% of its Illinois customers with broadband by 2013.

With nearly $24 million in funding to reach more than 3,000 homes, schools and businesses, Socket will spend about $7,900 per new customer.

While many expect Opelika voters to give the city the nod when they head to the polls on Aug. 10 for a referendum that would create a city-owned telecommunications company, that feeling isn’t unanimous.