Company to build fiber-optic network

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » City Council unanimously approved a contract with SiFi Networks to bring a fiber-optic network to every street in the city.

The 30-year contract will be at no cost to the city, and aims to improve access to high-speed internet for Saratoga Springs residents and businesses.

Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan said there have been discussions for several years about improving the city’s tech infrastructure, “specifically expanding the reach, quality and market for broadband access to all city residents and businesses.”

“From an economic development standpoint improved connectivity will allow existing businesses capabilities previously thought impossible, while also enticing the business of the future to thrive in Saratoga Springs,” said Madigan during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. “For residents, this would provide a more competitive broadband market with exceptionally fast access for all of their online needs.”

The project could enable internet speeds as much as 20 times faster than those currently available in the city.

SiFi Networks will oversee the financing, design, construction and operation of the city-wide fiber optic network.

According to Madigan, the company plans to partner with telecommunications experts such as Nokia and Adcomm.

The design of the system is expected to begin this year, and the construction will take roughly two years to complete. Certain areas, Madigan explained, will come online before the construction is completed.

The city has an opportunity to renew the agreement for an additional 30 years. If the city does renew, the city will receive .5 percent of SiFi’s gross revenue derived from the system. Additionally, SiFi Networks will remit $45,000 annually to the city toward a Department of Public Works employee that will serve as a point of contact between SiFi and the city. Madigan said the $45,000 would cover 50 percent of the cost to hire a new city engineer.

“This project has the potential to be a game changer in how the city can improve the online experience of residents and enable businesses to access technology previously thought unavailable,” Madigan said about the project earlier this year.

In the agreement, the city has waved all permitting fees up until the substantial completion of the project. After, however, SiFi Networks will go through the same permitting process as other providers in the city’s right of way.

“SiFi won’t be the service provider facing city consumers directly, like Spectrum is now, but they will instead generate revenue through fees paid by those who use the infrastructure they pay for and oversee the installation of,” Madigan said last fall. “These might be fees paid by the internet service providers who then offer high-speed access to city residents and businesses, or fees paid by larger institutions, like the city itself, should we decide to use SiFi’s fiber infrastructure to modernize city buildings and processes.”

SiFi Networks gave a presentation to the City Council last fall.

“We would like to create a super-fast highway throughout the entire city,” company President Scott Bradshaw said during the presentation, “[With] the super-fast highway ... multiple service providers can offer any service to any individual, any business, any institution within the community.”