Local ISP seeks space on Mabton water tower to save 17 customersservice

Austin Tumble, representing Advanced High Speed Internet, told the council the company acquired a wireless site on a BNSF-leased silo that the railroad and the landowner now consider redundant and may remove, putting local service at risk. "We serve 17 customers off of that site," Tumble said, describing the population as hard to reach by other providers and potentially without reliable alternatives such as cellular or Starlink.

Tumble asked the city to consider allowing his radios to colocate on one of the citys water reservoirs and offered in-kind bandwidth and phone services to offset lease costs. Council members pressed about costs and engineering constraints; staff said any agreement would require a lease negotiation and the company would have to pursue building permits and planning review. The city staff presentation noted council would need to authorize staff to begin lease negotiations and address engineering and code compliance through the building-permit process.

The company described its microwave backhaul and resilience planning and said it could supply dedicated circuits to city facilities for an estimated $500to $1,000 per month depending on configuration. Council members asked staff to gather more detailed cost and contract information; staff (Drew and Emily Romanenko) said they could begin negotiating terms if the council gave direction to proceed. No formal lease was approved during the study session; staff asked for guidance to pursue negotiations and for the vendor to submit network and contract details for review.