How did this broadband discussion among St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia come about and how long have the representatives been researching this issue?
The Tri-Cities have been discussing the possibility of a municipally sponsored broadband utility for the past two years. Leaders in all three communities were concerned with the lack of viable competition among cable and telephone service providers in the area, as well as the limited options for high-speed Internet access. All three communities had observed an increase in the number of complaints about current service providers, as well as several broken commitments on the part of the providers to upgrade their systems and enable them to meet the increasing demand of new customers. One of the key reasons a municipally sponsored broadband utility was explored as a potential solution to these problems was that the cities already maintained fiber optic networks within their communities for internal purposes. It is the belief of all three communities that state of the art telecommunications infrastructure is crucial to the long-term economic viability of the tri-cities region. Residents of
