L'burg City Will Sign On For Fiber Optic Internet; Service Could Be Expanded To Homes, Businesses

By Mike Perleberg (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – The City of Lawrenceburg will take advantage of a Cincinnati Bell offer to use blazing-fast internet service at a lower cost than what the city is currently paying. Cincinnati Bell representatives addressed Lawrenceburg City Council on August 1 offering use of a fiberoptic line that is already in place in the city. “This is a 400 percent increase in our download speeds and approximately a 2,000 percent increase in our upload speeds,” said Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities director Olin Clawson, adding that the proposed service would come at a substantial savings of about $17,000 per year. Cincinnati Bell representative Ken Worley told council about the proposal to install a new fiber optic-based dedicated internet service connecting to all the city government’s buildings. It is not for residential customers, but the service could be expanded to Lawrenceburg homes and businesses in the future. The fiberoptic connection would bring not just better speeds, but better reliability for users of the city's network. “It’s going to work. It’s going to work all the time,” he said. The fiberoptic line already wraps through downtown Lawrenceburg, down Industrial Drive, and up Ludlow Hill to Dearborn County Hospital. Taking advantage of the super high speed service would also open up possibilities for Lawrenceburg to become a “smart city,” using applications to provide wireless metering and public wifi. “It could set the city apart for the future,” Worley said. Clauson said the city is currently using a mix of services – primarily Comcast and CenturyLink – for a mix of cable and DSL internet service at city facilities. The utility director said better service at a cheaper cost could put Lawrenceburg in a unique position to court outside businesses as Indiana is in position to lure tech companies. “When companies look to relocate their headquarters or data centers or call centers or what have you, they’re looking for IT infrastructure and they’re looking for communities that can not only support that, but that they aren’t single-threatened with one carrier,” said Dan Mazza with Cincinnati Bell. Lawrenceburg City Councilman Mel Davis, the LMU’s former utility director, echoed that thought, saying Lawrenceburg has lost prospective employers – to the tune of 4,000 jobs – in the past due to insufficient internet service. Councilman Tony Abbott voiced concerns about unknown costs associated with upgrading the city’s internet. Mayor Kelly Mollaun said a cost analysis has not been finished and some investment will be needed. The Cincinnati Bell representative said there is no installation charge. Council’s vote was unanimous in voting to accept Cincinnati Bell’s internet service proposal to provide for the City of Lawrenceburg. Mazza and Worley told council that Cincinnati Bell is already contacting Lawrenceburg businesses about subscribing to their service.