New vote on municipal broadband requested as provider explores expansion in Tallahassee

A push for the city of Tallahassee to get into the broadband Internet business appears effectively dead, with City Commissioner Elaine Bryant saying she is against the potentially expensive proposition.

Earlier this month, commissioners including Bryant voted 3-2 to seek proposals from vendors for a feasibility study on a municipal-run high-speed Internet utility. However, Bryant on Friday asked City Manager Reese Goad to agenda reconsideration of the vote during City Commission meeting set for Wednesday.

She told the Tallahassee Democrat on Tuesday she doesn’t support hiring a firm for the study after all and doesn’t want to see the city get into broadband.

“I am pro-business for this community,” she said. “And I think that the city right now is not in the business of this particular industry. And I think we need to continue to do what we can to grow business in our city. I’m not in favor of the city owning broadband.”

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Her abrupt reversal comes at the same time an Indiana-based company called MetroNet is exploring expanding its operations to Tallahassee. Company reps held individual briefings Monday with city commissioners and staff of the city/Leon County Office of Economic Vitality to discuss their interest.

City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who campaigned in 2018 to improve broadband service and brought the issue up during his first commission meeting Dec. 5, said he was disappointed by Bryant’s move. He said the issue had been clouded by “misinformation,” including an estimated price tag of $280 million by city staff.

“There hasn’t been any proposal for a $300 million project,” Matlow said. “Doing a study doesn’t create any direct competition with the private sector. This is simply a feasibility study, which will show what city government’s needs are, where we have fiber infrastructure in our city and what the demands for fiber in the future will be.”

For weeks, Matlow has been promoting a petition on Facebook calling for municipal broadband and "faster internet, better service."

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Commissioners discussed and voted on the issue during a March 6 workshop. Matlow, Bryant and Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox voted for the feasibility study. But Mayor John Dailey and Commissioner Curtis Richardson balked at the idea of city-run broadband in part because of the potential cost.

Dailey said he’s curious to hear Bryant’s thoughts about why she reconsidered. He said he’s opposed to moving toward city-run broadband in part because of the dozen-plus internet service providers who already operate in town, including Comcast and CenturyLink.

“I do not believe the city of Tallahassee should be in competition with over a dozen providers,” Dailey said. “Our initial rough estimates show a $280 million investment to even begin offering services and the potential to compete. Nothing guarantees that we would even be able to compete and provide a service that would be successful.”

Debate comes as new ISP eyes city

Matlow proposed examining the possibility of city-run broadband based on successes seen in other cities, including Chattanooga, Tennessee. Four Florida cities own and operate broadband networks: Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Ocala and Palm Coast.

He said there are three basic options for the city to explore: providing broadband to city facilities only, building the infrastructure and leasing it to companies to provide to customers and offering full retail service to residential customers.

“Where we are — we don’t have enough information to know what we have and what we need,” Matlow said. “So this feasibility study would be laying that out and then exploring those three options.”

Both Matlow and Dailey met with MetroNet representatives and expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of a new business coming to town. Since launching in 2005, MetroNet has expanded to more than 50 communities in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, the company said on its website.

“They told us they were interested in looking at us, but I don’t know where they are in that process,” Dailey said. “It was a great meeting. And I really appreciate the company representatives showing an interest in our community.”

Dailey said the company was interested in the city's position on city-owned broadband. Dailey, who didn't know at the time of Bryant's reversal, said he told the reps he voted against the measure but that it passed with a majority of commissioners in support.

But Matlow said he wants to learn more from internet service providers, including MetroNet and big players like Comcast, about their plans for fiber and where it might go. He said MetroNet’s possible entry in the market doesn’t negate the need for a feasibility study on city broadband.

“We can’t tell a private company to bring fiber to the south side,” he said. “Which is why the feasibility study would allow us to see if there’s any plans for fiber on the south side and if there’s not, maybe that’s when there’s a role for the city to come in.”

Edward Massengale, business development manager for MetroNet, said the company is looking to expand but hasn’t settled on where. The company is considering 16 cities in 16 states, he said.

“We’re looking at 16 different (markets) and Tallahassee happens to be one we’re looking at,” Massengale said.

Bryant was confused over motion

Bryant told the Democrat she didn’t know at the time of the vote that a request for proposals would be issued and a private firm hired to conduct the feasibility study. She said she was under the impression that she was supporting an in-house study by staff.

“I'll be honest — I absolutely thought we were just doing a (staff) study,” she said. “I am not in favor of spending whatever it would cost to do a feasibility study. And so if that means I’m changing my mind, then yes. But I’ve never been of the opinion that we should do a feasibility study. I want a white paper.”

She said she didn't change her stance because of any lobbying or complaints from opponents.

“I knew immediately after the vote was taken and an RFP was mentioned," she said. "I gathered the minutes from the session because that was not what I thought I heard when I voted. But when I read the minutes, it was.”

Matlow noted on Facebook that the matter was coming back up for a vote. He linked to the Facebook page of Tally Fiber, a group page set up Monday that’s supporting the initiative and encouraging residents to contact commissioners about it.

“I will continue to support a fiber feasibility study,” Matlow said. “It's my goal that Tallahassee connection speeds are competitive and that we lead the state in connectivity across our city.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.