The Seattle Tri-county area used similar contracts which typically required about five strands/fiber-optic cable to be installed. This has included runs to schools, fire stations, and similar places where the majority of the strands remain ‘dark fiber’. This has been the situation for 10-20+ years for much of the fiber capacity.

Seattle led Tri-counties study was conducted around 2003 that I attended: I suggested to the committee that they do something similar to what Seattle is pursuing with gig squared: build out the core ~350 mile fiber optic network into a FTTN, fiber to the node network. My suggestion appears different in that I would not be pursuing fiber to the home under the government contract. Instead, the approach would have built out FTTN to access ‘nodes’ comprised of industry standard termination and equipment enclosures. These would vary in size but generally are small termination enclosures located with provision for power and cabinet/rack co-location for fiber optic, Gigabit Ethernet (GiGe), or wireless broadband that would be provided under contract by competing companies or community BB groups.

The goals would be to effectively put the fiber to use, expand it to a metro/regional grid to nodes within about 1,800 feet of every resident or business and to create an environment that would cause innovations to occur through the combination of the government sponsored ‘utility’ portion plus private and public delivery of wireless, fiber, GiGe or whatever other solution works best.

Talk to Pulte or Centex about MUDs and see what they say. That’s the approach I’d take if I lived in the lonestar state. I

http://www.jbgoodwin.com/knowmud.htm

What You Need To Know About Municipal Utility Districts

What is a MUD?
A Municipal Utility District (MUD) is a political subdivision of the State of Texas authorized by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide water, sewage, drainage and other services within the MUD boundaries.

How is a MUD created?
A majority of property owners in the proposed district petitions the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to create a MUD. The TCEQ evaluates the petition, holds a public hearing, and grants or denies the petition. After approval, the TCEQ appoints five temporary members to the MUD’s Board of Directors, until an election is called to elect permanent Board members, to confirm the MUD’s creation, and to authorize bonds and taxing authority for bond repayment.

How does a MUD work?
The publically elected Board of Directors manages and controls all of the affairs of the MUD subject to the continuing supervision of the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality. The Board establishes policies in the interest of its residents and utility customers. A MUD may adopt and enforce all necessary charges, fees and taxes in order to provide district facilities and service.

Will my taxes be higher in a MUD?
MUD tax rates, like all property tax rates, vary according to property values and debt requirements. MUD rates generally decline over time as the MUD is built out and operating and debt service costs are shared by more homeowners.

How do MUDs provide for parks, pools and recreation faclities?
In addition to their common functions of water and wastewater service, MUDs are legally empowered to engage in conservation, irrigation, electrical generation, firefighting, solid waste collection and disposal, and recreational activities (such as parks, swimming pools, and sports courts). A MUD can provide for itself the recreational amenities that are approved by the Board of Directors and funded by the District.

What is a developer’s responsibility to MUDs?
Developers must petition the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to create a MUD. Developers are prohibited from serving or placing employees, business associates, or family members on the MUD Board of Directors. Developers must pay for or put up a letter of credit equal to 30% of the cost of subdivision utilities. This requirement ensures against “fly-by-night operators” who are not committed to the success of the MUD. The “30% rule” also offers protection to MUD residents in the event that a subdivision is not built according to schedule. Unless they are voting residents within a MUD, developers have no authority or control over the MUD’s Board of Directors. If they are voting members of a district, they have the same power to vote and attend Board metings as any other resident.

As we, according to our Governor, live in a “low-regulation”, “pro-business” state, one would be excused for assuming that Austin would be a prime location for building-out fiber to Austin homes. In the early to mid 2000′s, there was talk of Austin having its own city-wide, public wifi network. Naturally, the telco’s were not happy. And they knew the state legislators to talk to.

One of our state legislatures most enjoyable recreational sports, when in session every two years, is to beat-up on those “weirdos” in Austin. To many in our very conservative Legislature, “Austin is a Socialist enclave in an otherwise fine Lone Star State.” Free wifi? No way! So create a law that makes such an effort very difficult for municipalities unless there is no imaginable way business could provide that service, though not necessarily for free. And even if the Legislature were to, in a moment of absent mindedness, allow Texas municipalities to bring enhanced wifi or fiber to their residents, the telcos always have Rick to veto such a legislative abomination.

We are, after all, talking about a state legislature that in the 2011 session cut education spending by $4B or there abouts so that a nice, whopping $6.5B–$2.5B wasn’t enough–could be left in the state’s Rainy Day fund, and all in an effort to give the appearance of budgetary fortitude to our Gov, as he prepared to run (one of the shortest campaigns ever) for President. Free fiber? In Texas?

So Stacey, I wish we could get fiber in Austin. But it will be long time before that ever happens, if it ever happens.

You can keep talking your wireless dogma, and point out that there aren’t any services that provide data at faster than 10Mbps – and the 4G or better can deliver up to 50Mbps – but we’re talking an order of magnitude FASTER than what wireless can provide.

And it’s available in Kansas city today – for $70 a month.

Has anyone ever asked Mark Ansboury: “where is he getting his money from?” “How much he’s going to charge for this fiber access?” “What his business model is – and how he’ll justify spending ALL this money on such small deployments?”

Inquiring minds wanna know!