Champaign council gets update on 'Big Broadband'
CHAMPAIGN – Policy and technical conversations have been going on since Champaign-Urbana received a $22.5 million federal stimulus grant last year, and officials could be ready to break ground on a new high-speed Internet infrastructure by August, organizers told the city council on Tuesday.
The city council heard an update from those involved in planning the so-called "Big Broadband" project at its weekly meeting. There is still much to be done, they say, before residents of underserved areas can hook up to a citywide, underground cable system.
"I think it's impossible to overstate how important this project is for the city," said council member Marci Dodds. "This is the infrastructure of the future."
The city will be on the hook for only $688,000 of the cost of the project. Last year, the federal government awarded the grant to a consortium of three local agencies to build the network in underserved neighborhoods. The University of Illinois and the city of Urbana are also contributing to the project.
Fred Halenar, the city's information technologies director, said organizers have been working hard to plan for the network's business model, technical design and future goals – they hope to complete a design and open construction bids in April.
The business model for the project – it could be city-owned and operated or leased to a separate entity for management, among a spectrum of different options – will reflect "whatever's going to be most efficient and protect the cities from whatever risk there is out there," City Manager Steve Carter said.
That largely will depend on the goals for the future of the network after the initial 11 neighborhoods, which were determined to be underserved by Internet options and defined by the grant as initial priorities, are connected to the system. Planners may decide they want to build out the network in the future to neighborhoods not included in those initial 11 – another decision that has yet to be made.
Still, Halenar said much headway has been made, but the planners may ask the council for up to $250,000 in seed funding, which they believe can be paid back by funds from the grant, for various items to help them work more efficiently.
"The only disappointing thing is that we haven't seen the boring machines in town getting to do the work yet," Halenar said.
Really... my most important concern is NOT whether or not I have the internet at my home that the Government has provided for me, but rather is there going to be a FF to put out my fire or a police officer to come to my home when its being burglarized; In this day of economic strife, add on's like the internet are not that critical.
The old bait and switch, the hallmark of this Illinois. It doesn't go anywhere, but we are going to get you there quicker. No death penalty so the killer gets out but what do you care you'll be just as dead. And now your Nanny Government will know every website you access to better serve you. But that won't matter because the Fire Department could not get to your house to put out the fire started by your murderer to cover up the theft of your computer and murder.
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