Contract approved for Fiber-to-the-Home project for Ponca City

The Trustees of the Ponca City Utility Authority unanimously approved a contract with Monty R. Lee and Company to start the development of Ponca City’s new utility service, Ponca City Broadband.

The business plan for this ultra-high speed connection has been completed and this contract with MRL is for the final engineering, staking sheet, bid preparation, bid processing, contractor selection, general contracting, documentation, and testing of the Phase 1, FiberTo The Home Project, and authorizing the chairman of the PCUA Board of Trustees to sign any and all necessary documents.

David Williams, Technology Services Director, said the first phase will be the residential area from 14th Street to Union Street, and from Bradley Avenue to Highland Avenue. He said this section will be the easiest place to start installing the system for several reasons. It has the highest density of homes of anywhere within the city limits; income demographics support the highest overall subscription — or take-rate — in relation to the home density; the homes are mostly served with overhead utilities; and utility easements are the least problematic.

Williams emphasized that Ponca City Broadband will provide 100 percent fiber optic network access, which sets  the utility apart from any of its competition.

He said the plan is to offer three service tiers: 50 Megabit; 100 Megabit, and a true 1 Gigabit plan. It will provide the highest possible internet access speed with unparalleled reliability.

“Customer will not be required to sign time-commitment contracts, and none of the service plans will have asterisks, data caps, or any other kind of limitations or surprises,” Williams said. “Subscribers to this utility will get what they pay for – every time, and all the time.”

The estimated time to complete Phase 1 is 40 weeks, Williams said.

The contact for engineering and general contracting fees for Phase 1 is $378,221, Williams said.