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Council approves community area network agreement to connect public institutions by fiber
Summary
The council approved an agreement to form a community area network with Douglas County, School District of Superior, WITC and UW-Superior to share fiber infrastructure; the city's initial annual cost is $4,000.
The Superior Common Council approved an agreement that will make the city a partner in a community area network (CAN) with Douglas County, the School District of Superior, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) and the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Dan Che (information services manager) told the council the project originated with federal E-rate or related grant opportunities and is a pilot to lay fiber through the city. The grant was applied for through UW Extension; once fiber is installed the named entities will be owners and partners in the network. The initial recurring cost for the city was described in the meeting as about $4,000 per year.
Che said the immediate benefit for the city is a connection to UW-Superior and to WiscNet for Internet service; over time, the city hopes to expand the network to additional municipal buildings including the garage, fire halls and other facilities. He said the grant terms prevent the city from offering retail Internet service to the public in competition with private providers, though city facilities such as the library could use the network for public access.
After a brief question-and-answer period about costs and benefits, the council voted to approve the agreement. The motion passed.
