Gulf Shores looks to bring new fiber provider to city

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The City of Gulf Shores is considering an agreement with a new internet provider to bring fiber to its residents.

Economic Development Coordinator Blake Phelps presented the agreement to the council members. He said the agreement would be for 10 years and is consistent with other fiberoptic and telecommunications franchises currently in place.

“When the city council adopted the Vision 2025 back in 2014, you identified establishing and expanding well-organized infrastructure as one of your top priorities,” Phelps said. “This includes fiberoptic infrastructure. We have worked with existing providers within the community to expand their networks and have also worked with other providers not within our community to try and recruit them here.”

Point Broadband has agreed to come into the community and provide fiber to residential homes, something Phelps said is the company’s number one priority.

The annual franchise fee will be 5 percent of gross sales, and the company will be given the opportunity to provide fiber services to business clients as they grow in the area.

“Staff will work with Point Broadband to try and identify underserved areas of the community and help them identify new, residential developments that are already on the drawing board as well,” Phelps said. “What they’ll be offering is speeds up to 1GB and their plans are between $70 and $150 a month and no contract. So, very competitive pricing and very competitive speeds. They solely do internet, so they would be the first provider in the community to provide fiber to the home.”

Phelps said Gulf Shores has other providers who have a fiber backbones, but said what actually runs to the homes is coaxial cable. Point Broadband’s promise of taking fiber all the way to the home will allow for higher speeds and increased reliability of the network.

The easy part will be when Point Broadband lays its conduit in new construction as other utilities are being laid down. For established homes, which make up a large majority of Gulf Shores, the company will use a technique pioneered by Google Fiber called micro-trenching.

“What they do is they take a diamond-plated blade, and they actually trench about six inches,” Phelps said. “They lay micro conduit and load the actual fiber into that place. So, it’s a very small incision that they make.”

One of the areas Point Broadband has identified as a top priority is Craft Farms North, laying to rest concerns that the company would be focused on new construction. Phelps said the city receives many emails and complaints from that area about the lack of service and the timeliness of providers since the network isn’t already in the ground over there.

Councilman Dr. Jason Dyken expressed concerns that the company would stick to the agreement to provide for residential customers. He said in the past, providers have wanted to come into the community and make promises, but then focus their attention and efforts on the higher-density areas nearer to the beach.

Phelps said the business model of Point Broadband does not touch on beachside condominiums or high-rises.

“They have been solely focused on residential,” Phelps said. “They see a niche and an opportunity.”