Albany considers city-owned internet
Speed, financing method, how it would compete yet to be worked out
Speed, financing method, how it would compete with Spectrum and other internet carriers has yet to be worked out.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan is creating a five-person Commission on Municipal Internet Service to look at the feasibility of creating a city-owned high-speed internet service that would compete with Spectrum and other internet carriers available to city residents.
The proposed service would model itself on the municipal internet service offered by Chattanooga, Tenn. that offers residents internet service that reaches download speeds of one gigabyte per second for $67.99, which has made Chattanooga into one of the most technologically advanced cities in the country, with an estimated $2.7 billion in economic benefits to the city over the past decade.
“Creating high-speed, reliable, affordable, and citizen-owned internet service has shown to be a major economic boost in municipalities where such infrastructure exists,” Sheehan’s office says in a posting seeking members for the new board, who would serve two-year terms. “Providing this service would also serve as a significant benefit in every neighborhood in Albany, particularly in neighborhoods where unemployment and poverty rates are high.”
It is unclear how the service would be financed or how it would compete with Spectrum and others on speed and prices. The city’s job posting says that the average internet download speed in the city of Albany is “a little over” 20 megabytes per second, which is significantly slower than the speeds of “up to” 200 mbps that Spectrum says it can provide city residents for $49.99 a month.
Chattanooga offers residents a “starting speed”of 300 mbps for $57.99 per month, although the city of Albany posting claims Chattanooga offers average internet down--
load speeds of just 100 mbps.
David Galin, chief of staff to Mayor Sheehan, said Friday night that the commission would sort through those claims as it researches various speeds and costs of internet service in the city of Albany.
“The commission’s mission is to determine the answers to those very questions,” Galin told the Times Union. “The pandemic has shone a light on the digital divide and its impacts on public health and safety, and it’s important to do all that we can to help close the gap and ensure residents have access to affordable, high speed internet. The first step is to find residents who are interested in being part of this commission and undertaking this important work.”
Download speeds indicate how quickly internet users can load programs and media onto their computers or other internet devices. One gigabyte download speeds are the gold standard for users working from home, although Chattanooga offers an amazing 10 gig service for $299.99 a month, which is designed for businesses or professional video gamers. Chattanooga calls it the world’s fastest internet service.
“Establishing a successful citizen-owned internet service would be an enormous help to attracting new small businesses and residents to Albany, which means a significant increase of our tax base, more thriving commercial centers, and give Albany a major competitive advantage over surrounding municipalities,” the municipal internet service board posting states.
The new internet board would first study “all the necessary elements of creating a municipal internet service and seize this opportunity and move towards quality internet for all” before creating such a system.
A Spectrum spokeswoman said Friday night that the company’s internet speeds start at 200 mbps generally and even its low-cost option, Spectrum Internet Assist, costs $14.99 a month with speeds of 30 mbps.
The city of Albany is asking board candidates for their resumes and letter of interest by April 30.