All West says USDA ReConnect grant will bring fiber to Bear River; asks town to adopt franchise agreement

All West told the Bear River Town Council at a Sept. 9 workshop that it has been awarded a USDA ReConnect grant to build fiber through parts of the Bear River area and that it needs a municipal franchise agreement before construction can proceed. The company’s representative said the grant covers roughly 75% of construction costs, with All West providing the remaining 25%, and estimated the project would make about 480 locations eligible for service.

The All West representative said the grant and the company’s investment mean residents in the defined service area would be offered a customer “drop” at no cost while crews are working in their neighborhood. “It’s a no cost item to any of the residents. It’s a no cost item to the county. It’s a no cost item to the city,” the representative said. A council member asked, “When you say get it to them, is that takes it to my front door?” and the representative confirmed the drop would be brought to the house and inside if the customer accepted service while crews were in the area.

Company officials outlined a multi-stage schedule: they said permitting could take longer if the route required Bureau of Land Management approvals (2½–3 years), but because this plan largely follows existing local rights-of-way they expect to complete permitting in roughly a year and to complete construction and customer installs over the following one to two years. The representative called the in-ground work disruptive but said All West is bonded and committed to repairing damage and minimizing impacts.

On pricing and service, the representative cited example plans: 300 Mbps symmetrical service around $65/month and a gigabit plan near $74.95/month; he said business pricing can differ. He also described technical architecture—passive optical networks (PONs) and conduits—and noted there will be places where fiber is not economically feasible; in those spots the company may use licensed microwave or other fixed-wireless options.

The company asked the town to consider a franchise agreement using a template the company has used elsewhere. The representative explained municipal franchise law distinctions and said franchise arrangements commonly include video and telecom franchise elements; he advised that franchise fees on video typically range from 1% to 5%, and that federal rules prohibit charging a fee for Internet service itself but allow municipal access or right-of-way fees in some forms.

The representative urged care in setting any access fees so they do not “make it prohibitive” for the provider to build. He said the grant paperwork is close to finalized but that the council’s adoption of a franchise ordinance and cooperation on permitting and rights-of-way would be required before construction began.

The workshop concluded with the company offering to provide the town a service-area map and repeated offers to answer technical or franchise-related questions as the council reviews an ordinance template.