Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultants say lower install cost could boost Ocala FiberNet; private firm offers to buy network
Summary
Consultants presented a competitiveness study and vendor-selection update for Ocala FiberNet, recommending removal of a large upfront install fee to boost take rates. During public comment Wire 3’s CEO said his company has built in Ocala and offered to buy the system; council asked staff to evaluate the offer.
Consultants hired by the city said removing a heavy upfront connection charge would markedly increase demand for Ocala FiberNet and that the city is close to selecting a new operations support system for the fiber network.
Janice Mitchell, the city’s chief financial officer, introduced Dave Stockton and Neil Shaw of Uptown Services, who reviewed a competitiveness study of the municipal fiber offering and an ongoing vendor selection for an OSS (operations support system). Stockton said the study found the city’s fiber product scores well on technology, localness and value but that a high installation fee was suppressing subscriptions. “Going with a no cost install would dramatically improve the take rate and demand for OFN,” Stockton said during the presentation.
Uptown reported that it has shortlisted an OSS vendor, is in negotiation and expects to proceed to contracting and then implementation. Neil Shaw, who handles Uptown’s engineering practice, said preliminary design work for an East‑Side expansion covering about 4,500 homes is complete and that the team expects final design documentation in the “late March, early April time frame.”
During public comments, Wire 3 CEO Jay Ramachandran asked the council to consider a letter of intent his company delivered offering to purchase Ocala FiberNet. Ramachandran described Wire 3 as a privately funded provider that has built in the area: “We started building in Ocala 18 months ago … we are now bigger than Ocala fiber in the city of Ocala,” he told the council, and said Wire 3 added more than 2,000 customers in 2025.
Council members asked the city manager and staff to evaluate the offer and to schedule one-on-one briefings with council as necessary. The Uptown consultants and city staff reiterated that the OFN project will return with a final report and recommended contract language at a future meeting for council action.
Next steps: staff will complete the OSS procurement and return a clean concurrency and contract package; council asked for evaluation of the Wire 3 offer and for one‑on‑one briefings with the manager’s office.
