GoNet Speed presents phased citywide fiber plan; council presses for equity guarantees

Springfield — GoNet Speed representatives told the Springfield City Council’s Maintenance and Development Committee on Sept. 1 that the company intends a phased, citywide build of fiber broadband and that it has already invested in initial work but faces permit and pole-attachment delays that could slow full deployment.

The company described a multi-phase plan that it says will eventually pass 60,000 locations in Springfield and includes an initial $54 million to $55 million commitment to the first phase, which the company described as the green and blue areas on its maps. John Dellihan, GoNet Speed government affairs, said, “we are looking to pass 60,000 locations, and that's a commitment of $54,000,000 of our own money. That equates to 428 miles of fiber.”

Councilors said they welcomed competition to Comcast but repeatedly pressed GoNet Speed and city staff for concrete guarantees that buildout will not concentrate service only in higher-income neighborhoods. “Our intentions were never to stop there,” Chris Brooks, senior director of…