Jeff Christensen, Entry Point Network president/CEO, discusses the Jamestown Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study in the Fireplace Room at the James Prendergast Library Thursday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

It’s feasible for the city of Jamestown to create its own municipal broadband network.

On Thursday, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and Jeff Christensen, Entry Point Networks president / CEO, presented the Jamestown Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study in the Fireplace Room at the James Prendergast Library.

Sundquist said city officials started looking into the possibility of creating its own broadband network to address the digital divide and attract investment. He said the study charts a path forward and makes affordable, high-speed internet for all Jamestown residents a much closer reality. He added that city officials were looking at its own broadband fiber network before the pandemic, but the lack of access to high-speed internet for some residents in the last two years – while children had to remotely be educated or people had to work from home – increased the need to examine the possibility.

Christensen said Entry Point Networks has worked with 35 municipalities on broadband projects. He said the six priorities for creating a municipal broadband network are to improve affordability; increase competition; provide fast and reliable internet; provide local control; create economic development; and solve the digital divide.

Possible cost projections for one gigabit of municipal broadband could be around $54.14, Christensen said. He said, nationally, the average cost of 100 megabits of internet is around $70.

Sundquist said the cost of $54 could be even lower if the infrastructure is built not using local funding, but using state or federal money. He said if you remove the infrastructure cost to build the network, residents could pay as low as $35 a month for one gigabit.

Christensen said survey results from the one conducted by city officials last year resulted in 76% of city residents stating they would support a municipal broadband network. The survey also resulted in 99.38% of city residents feel speed is important and 99.83% believe choice is important.

Last month, Sundquist said a broadband commission will be created that will consist of people from the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities as well as the Jamestown City Council. He said commissions members will also be officials from local foundations, who assisted in funding the study. He added there will also be community members who work remotely in other states and officials from manufacturers who rely on a strong internet connection. The commission will then decide if municipal broadband internet is feasible for Jamestown.

Sundquist said, while city officials can use American Rescue Plan Act funds to create the broadband network, projections show the city will be able to upgrade the fiber infrastructure and maintain it into the future from the money the service generates.