Thanks to Lynne Dahl-Fleming for sending me an update on Monticello for the upcoming eNews…

Monticello, Minnesota has started construction on a city-wide 100% fiber optic network which will bring telephone, Internet and cable TV service to every home and business inside the city limits. A telephone referendum was held on September 18 and city residents came to the polls to provide a 74% voter approval telling the City of Monticello that they wanted another choice for telephone service.

For more than two years, the City has been researching the possibility of providing a 100% fiber optic network as infrastructure to every home and business inside the city limits of Monticello. The telecommunications business is named FiberNet Monticello and will provide triple play services for telephone, Internet and cable TV. The city-wide fiber optic network will be supported by revenue bonds and will not require any tax levy.

The next steps for the fiber optic network project include engineering and layout of the City-wide network, financing the network and constructing the network. At the same time the City’s Finance Team will be working to prepare the information needed to be provided to the prospective bond buyers whose purchase of the bonds would finance the construction and launch of the City-wide system. This includes information on how voice, video and data services would be provided, operations management and marketing.

The process of selecting an engineering firm and completing the design will occur concurrently with the financing process, with the intent that the design of the system is near completion at the same time the City receives bond proceeds to finance the construction. Full construction of the fiber optic network will take 18 to 24 months and first customers could take service by early summer 2009.

For more information visit the Monticello website.