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[UPDATE]: Shortly after we posted this article, Gates alerted us to a new document in which the KCC staff recommends that the commission approve Chanute's application to issue bonds.
A city in Kansas that plans to expand a fiber broadband network to serve all residents and businesses has to explain itself to local DSL provider AT&T.
Chanute, Kansas, a city of 9,000 residents, needs state permission to issue bonds needed to finance the expansion of its fiber network, which was built to support utility operations and now also serves government facilities, a college, a library, a hospital, and a few business partners. Chanute requested approval to issue the bonds on October 21, saying the expansion would let it offer “Gigabit connectivity to potentially all of Chanute's utility customers.” Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, the AT&T subsidiary, promptly asked the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) for permission to “intervene” in the proceeding, saying the company’s “interests and those of its customers may be affected” by the plan.
AT&T’s petition was approved yesterday. (See the approval letter here.) But Chanute officials are confident their fiber expansion won’t be stopped. “AT&T intervention at this time is just a process. We are not expecting any issues,” Chanute Director of Utilities Larry Gates told Ars.
In response to questions from Ars, AT&T said it doesn’t intend to delay the proceeding and described intervention as a routine procedural matter used when an interested party believes it will be affected by a case and wants the opportunity to receive information and keep up with its developments. “AT&T has not taken a position on this fiber network,” an AT&T spokesperson told Ars. “As a provider in the area, any decision made by the KCC could impact AT&T’s business operations, which is why we asked to intervene in the proceeding.”
arstechnica.com
A city in Kansas that plans to expand a fiber broadband network to serve all residents and businesses has to explain itself to local DSL provider AT&T.
Chanute, Kansas, a city of 9,000 residents, needs state permission to issue bonds needed to finance the expansion of its fiber network, which was built to support utility operations and now also serves government facilities, a college, a library, a hospital, and a few business partners. Chanute requested approval to issue the bonds on October 21, saying the expansion would let it offer “Gigabit connectivity to potentially all of Chanute's utility customers.” Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, the AT&T subsidiary, promptly asked the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) for permission to “intervene” in the proceeding, saying the company’s “interests and those of its customers may be affected” by the plan.
AT&T’s petition was approved yesterday. (See the approval letter here.) But Chanute officials are confident their fiber expansion won’t be stopped. “AT&T intervention at this time is just a process. We are not expecting any issues,” Chanute Director of Utilities Larry Gates told Ars.
In response to questions from Ars, AT&T said it doesn’t intend to delay the proceeding and described intervention as a routine procedural matter used when an interested party believes it will be affected by a case and wants the opportunity to receive information and keep up with its developments. “AT&T has not taken a position on this fiber network,” an AT&T spokesperson told Ars. “As a provider in the area, any decision made by the KCC could impact AT&T’s business operations, which is why we asked to intervene in the proceeding.”
AT&T intervenes in city’s plan to offer fiber Internet to all residents [Updated]
City in Kansas has to explain itself to state regulators and DSL provider AT&T.
arstechnica.com
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