Who needs the phone company?
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Greensboro to launch broadband network
05/28/03
PATRICIA DEDRICK
News staff writer
GREENSBORO This small city in the heart of Alabama's Black Belt is about to launch its own broadband telecommunications network something much larger cities have not done. Greensboro city officials announced Tuesday that the new network would provide telephone, digital cable, high-speed Internet access and local and long-distance phone service at costs that are as much as 16 percent below competitors' rates.
"The revolution begins today," said Mayor John E. Owens. "Our City of Greensboro and our region now have the technology needed to create jobs and abound in prosperity. Greensboro, the new generation, is definitely moving in a super-positive direction."
State Rep. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, an organizer of the effort, said once the network has been tried and tested, the model will be taken to other Black Belt counties. Those areas of the state are considered the poorest, with high unemployment and low educational attainment.
The Hale County city has a population of about 3,500. The county's unemployment rate was 10.8 percent in March, the most recent month for which figures were available.
Installing the fiber optics will cost the city about $5 million, but officials believe owning and maintaining its own network will lure new businesses to Greensboro and add $1.5 million to the city's coffers, Singleton said. The newly created Greensboro Telecommunications Utility will operate the network. Its members are appointed by the City Council.
With no movie theaters and few other entertainment options, most Greensboro residents already subscribe to cable television, Singleton said. "We have $7.5 million leaving our community each year in telephone and cable bills. All we're getting back now is a $5,000-a-year cable franchise fee.
"If we can keep a portion of that money in the community, we can use it to maintain and even improve city services without raising taxes," said Singleton, who served on the council before being elected in November to the state Legislature. "The best marketing tool we have is that this is an investment of their own. In return, they are getting the best bang for their buck."
Some new jobs will be created once the network begins operating, officials said, but they are unable to say how many permanent positions.
The city's efforts are not just to attract businesses or build its budget; components of the telecommunications plan also are educational. The network will allow teachers, students and parents access to online lesson plans, homework assignments and teacher/student-developed Web sites.
Microsoft and Cisco certification training will be offered and customers who buy high-speed Internet service will get low-cost, student-built computers with free computer training.
Initial testing is scheduled to begin in August and the network should be fully operational by December. |
