Superior, Wisc., Moves Forward on Open Access Fiber Network

(TNS) — The City Council will consider more ConnectSuperior proposals at its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

At its second meeting in July, the Communications and Information Technology Committee recommended entering into an agreement with COS Systems to establish interconnection between the city’s infrastructure, internet service providers and customers of Superior’s broadband internet company.

COS Systems will provide business software that will enable customers to connect to ISPs to gain access to them.

“It’s the most important piece of the puzzle that allows everything to communicate,” said Stephanie Becken, broadband manager.

ConnectSuperior will provide an open access network that will enable ISPs to offer connections to the city’s fiber network, giving customers a choice of service providers.

While this open-access system is still relatively new in the United States, Becken said it is not new to Europe. COS Systems started in Sweden.

“They are very well-respected in their market and there are several markets in the U.S. that they work with,” Becken said.

“It’s a relatively new service, so they’re the ones handling it now,” said Dan Shea, chief information technology officer at Superior.

Under the three-year agreement that council will consider, COS Systems will create a platform where consumers can choose a provider and sign up for the service. The initial cost is $48,000, with a monthly recurring subscription cost of $1,900 over three years. With a $1.45 endpoint fee based on customer volume, the total cost of the three-year agreement is estimated at $159,000.

All costs of building the network and launching it will be covered by the company providing broadband Internet Superior.

“There’s nothing hardware-dependent about this interface,” Shea said. “If we’re not happy with it, we can just switch to something else.”

Becken said the agreement requires the city to give ConnectSuperior six months’ notice, while if COS Systems decides to make changes, it will have to give the company one year’s notice if it no longer provides the business software.

According to Councilman Taylor Elm, chairman of the Communications and Information Technology Committee, software is the glue that connects customers and suppliers.

“If you don’t have that, it’s going to be a manual billing process,” Elm said. “It’s going to be like the old carriers connecting things… from a marketing perspective, you can choose your ISPs and the packages that are available.”

Becken said it will take some time to build the website, but the goal is to work on it while the network is being put in place in the pilot project area. Once it’s live, Shea said the website’s software platform will be accessible through ConnectSuperior and the city’s websites.

The Commission took no action on contracts with MCA Lightspeed Technologies Inc., which are still being finalized, for IP and fixed network equipment, professional services and maintenance of equipment needed to connect the city’s network to the Internet.

“This is the technology in the data room,” Becken said. “This is the brain.”

Becken said she hopes the council will be able to present the finalized agreements for consideration at its Tuesday meeting.

Elm suggested the agreements be sent to committee members so they could review them and any questions or concerns could be discussed during the board meeting.

“I can see from looking at you that you know a lot more than I do… I really wish you would look into these contracts,” said Councilwoman Ruth Ludwig, a member of the committee.

The City Council meets on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in room 201 of the Government Center.