Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is in the final steps of shutting down the city’s fledgling municipal broadband network as it pivots to a new public private fiber deployment partnership with Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel).

Late last year city officials announced they’d selected Shentel with an eye on ensuring uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The city has been in conversations with various Internet service providers (ISPs) since 2015, when the city struck a deal with Reading-based MAW Communications to build a $1.7 million fiber backbone financed by the city's water fund bond.

Image

MAW helped the city build and launch LanCity Connect, a city-owned municipal broadband network that began signing up customers in the Spring of 2017. But a legal dispute between MAW and PPL Electric Utilities over MAW’s use of PPL utility poles brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.

In 2021 the city took control of the network from MAW, but there’s been little in the way of progress since.

Back in February, the city emailed the network’s subscribers to inform them the service would be shutting down in April.

"With the Shentel agreement now in place, the city will be discontinuing LanCity Connect," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace wrote.

"It is no small feat creating a municipal broadband option and this process has certainly been bumpy. We appreciate the opportunity to provide LanCity Connect services and I look forward to expanding municipal broadband citywide."

The towns of Somerville and Washington Maine have kickstarted their long-percolating efforts to deliver fiber broadband to both long-neglected rural municipalities.

In an update posted to both towns' respective websites, officials say that the municipalities’ partner, Axiom Technologies, has begun construction on a dual-town fiber deployment funded by state and federal grants.

Somerville (est. pop. 600) and Washington (est. pop. 1,590) will be offering many local residents fiber access for the first time. Both of the deployments were made possible by a 2022 Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant from the NTIA, coordinated via the ConnectMaine Authority (now part of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA)).

Image

Established in 2021, the MCA is a quasi-governmental agency funded through a combination of federal and state resources, and tasked with ensuring the even, equitable deployment of broadband access to all corners of the Pine Tree State. They’ll be playing a central role in the disbursement of the state’s $272 million upcoming BEAD subsidy awards.

Fiber Finally  

According to a Washington, Maine FAQ, the total cost of network deployment for the town was $2,913,919 ($2,622,527 from the NTIA, $291,392 from the state). The Somerville FAQ indicates that their segment of the network construction was $1,601,901 ($1,441,711 from the NTIA, $160,190 from the state).

The towns of Somerville and Washington Maine have kickstarted their long-percolating efforts to deliver fiber broadband to both long-neglected rural municipalities.

In an update posted to both towns' respective websites, officials say that the municipalities’ partner, Axiom Technologies, has begun construction on a dual-town fiber deployment funded by state and federal grants.

Somerville (est. pop. 600) and Washington (est. pop. 1,590) will be offering many local residents fiber access for the first time. Both of the deployments were made possible by a 2022 Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant from the NTIA, coordinated via the ConnectMaine Authority (now part of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA)).

Image

Established in 2021, the MCA is a quasi-governmental agency funded through a combination of federal and state resources, and tasked with ensuring the even, equitable deployment of broadband access to all corners of the Pine Tree State. They’ll be playing a central role in the disbursement of the state’s $272 million upcoming BEAD subsidy awards.

Fiber Finally  

According to a Washington, Maine FAQ, the total cost of network deployment for the town was $2,913,919 ($2,622,527 from the NTIA, $291,392 from the state). The Somerville FAQ indicates that their segment of the network construction was $1,601,901 ($1,441,711 from the NTIA, $160,190 from the state).

The towns of Somerville and Washington Maine have kickstarted their long-percolating efforts to deliver fiber broadband to both long-neglected rural municipalities.

In an update posted to both towns' respective websites, officials say that the municipalities’ partner, Axiom Technologies, has begun construction on a dual-town fiber deployment funded by state and federal grants.

Somerville (est. pop. 600) and Washington (est. pop. 1,590) will be offering many local residents fiber access for the first time. Both of the deployments were made possible by a 2022 Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant from the NTIA, coordinated via the ConnectMaine Authority (now part of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA)).

Image

Established in 2021, the MCA is a quasi-governmental agency funded through a combination of federal and state resources, and tasked with ensuring the even, equitable deployment of broadband access to all corners of the Pine Tree State. They’ll be playing a central role in the disbursement of the state’s $272 million upcoming BEAD subsidy awards.

Fiber Finally  

According to a Washington, Maine FAQ, the total cost of network deployment for the town was $2,913,919 ($2,622,527 from the NTIA, $291,392 from the state). The Somerville FAQ indicates that their segment of the network construction was $1,601,901 ($1,441,711 from the NTIA, $160,190 from the state).

The towns of Somerville and Washington Maine have kickstarted their long-percolating efforts to deliver fiber broadband to both long-neglected rural municipalities.

In an update posted to both towns' respective websites, officials say that the municipalities’ partner, Axiom Technologies, has begun construction on a dual-town fiber deployment funded by state and federal grants.

Somerville (est. pop. 600) and Washington (est. pop. 1,590) will be offering many local residents fiber access for the first time. Both of the deployments were made possible by a 2022 Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant from the NTIA, coordinated via the ConnectMaine Authority (now part of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA)).

Image

Established in 2021, the MCA is a quasi-governmental agency funded through a combination of federal and state resources, and tasked with ensuring the even, equitable deployment of broadband access to all corners of the Pine Tree State. They’ll be playing a central role in the disbursement of the state’s $272 million upcoming BEAD subsidy awards.

Fiber Finally  

According to a Washington, Maine FAQ, the total cost of network deployment for the town was $2,913,919 ($2,622,527 from the NTIA, $291,392 from the state). The Somerville FAQ indicates that their segment of the network construction was $1,601,901 ($1,441,711 from the NTIA, $160,190 from the state).