The board of commissioners for the Eugene Water and Electric Board unanimously approved a high-speed Internet access service Tuesday night at City Hall after a public hearing on the plan.The $10 million project, named MetroNet, will connect businesses and schools in downtown Eugene and some surrounding areas with a fiber-optic telecommunications infrastructure.
Commissioners said MetroNet will provide cost-effective telecommunication services in targeted areas of Eugene, where commissioners expect heavy use will generate enough revenue. EWEB plans to expand the system to less concentrated areas six years after installment.
Dennis Gabriel, a telecom consultant and trainer for TeleData Management Inc., said MetroNet would benefit local Internet businesses.
“MetroNet will spawn a new industry,” Gabriel said. “It is a vital infrastructure.”For the city of Eugene, the approval of MetroNet will allow the metropolitan area to recruit effective businesses and develop a next-generation network, commissioners said.Tuesday’s approval is the latest step in the utility’s 10 years of telecommunications planning, said EWEB Risk Manager Debra Wright.
“For any new venture to be successful takes careful thought,” she said.
David Klindt, an administrator with local network access provider Willamette.Net said he opposes the plan because there are some inconsistencies with it.In December 1999, EWEB tested an infrastructure, which consisted of a 70-mile fiber-optic system that transmitted cable television, video teleconferencing and e-mail by means of light waves. In May 2000, Eugene adopted an amendment to the Eugene Charter, which approved EWEB’s telecommunication activities. After EWEB installed the first infrastructure, however, the utility discovered it could not afford a larger system at that time. Engineers developed MetroNet as an alternative approach, using the existing test infrastructure already in place.Initial funding will come from the remaining $3 million in bonds EWEB was given for the initial infrastructure. The rest will be paid with short-term loans.
EWEB will forge ahead with fiber-optic MetroNet
Daily Emerald
July 11, 2001
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