I’ve heard from many residents this morning regarding their frustration with Xfinity (Comcast). Like many of you, I pay for their service and am dissatisfied as well. My business is being run from a hotspot today too.
Just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions. Xfinity does not have an exclusive agreement or franchise with the City. What they did have expired in 2010 and would have likely be made obsolete anyway when the Communications Services Act was enacted.
That being said there is nothing that prevents any other competitor from coming into the City. The most likely reason is that the cost of building the infrastructure to compete with Xfinity, which already has the infrastructure in place, is very high.
To combat this problem the City has begun an expansion and enhancement of the fiber network that runs throughout the city. Having this infrastructure in place will make it easier to allow for competition or perhaps having the City become an ISP ourselves. We have authorized the expense of 2 million to begin the project and held a work session to discuss how we might fund the entire project which is expected to cost 20+ million to fully implement. That’s a lot of money, but our ability to continue to attract and keep businesses and families in town is dependent on being able to provide high-speed reliable internet access.
It’s not an immediate solution but at least one that is currently being pursued. In the past, the City has reached out to Xfinity to demand better service only to be told that the company has invested money into improving their network in town. We haven’t seen the improvement we have hoped for. We will reach out again to Xfinity and demand better. I know the delay is costing you time and money. Hopefully, we will have a better solution soon.
