The City of Fort Atkinson and the School District of Fort Atkinson are working jointly to build a community fiber-optic network, according to information released by city and district officials Monday.
With two phases of the project completed, businesses along the network path — working with broadband service provider WIN Technology — can purchase services at discounted monthly rates, the released information stated.
Building a network: History, funding, phases
The network, known as Fort Atkinson Shared Technical Resources or FASTR, is being developed to “ensure the technical resilience of the community for years to come,” according to information jointly released by the two governmental bodies.
While new for Fort Atkinson, the concept of a community network is not new, the release noted.
Within the release, School District of Fort Atkinson Director of Technology DJ Scullin noted that owning connections between the district’s school buildings was a district and personal goal.
When district officials began planning for the network, Scullin said, they realized, as they plotted connections between buildings on a map, that other community buildings, such as the library, and police and fire departments, would also be in line with proposed network connections.
“I’ve always been of the mindset that what’s good for the school district is good for the city and community, and what’s good for the community, most certainly is good for the school district,” Scullin was quoted as saying in the release.
According to the release, In 2018, both Scullin and Fort Atkinson City Engineer Andy Selle began meeting monthly and interacting with internet service providers, construction engineers and representatives from area businesses who were interested in a community fiber-optic network.
The release described the benefits to both the school district and city as “significant,” potentially providing such inclusions as cameras and live video feeds, which could provide “a direct connection” between the schools and Fort Atkinson Police Department, as well as efficiencies through shared applications and hardware.
Monitoring equipment to traffic signal coordination after hours also could be managed through the network, the release stated, adding: “The most apparent benefit is having access to reliable multi-gigabit internet speeds at locations along the FASTR network.”
According to the release, another benefit of installing the network is “clear future savings” by “consolidating systems and applications,” but, the release continued, an initial investment in the network “presented a challenge.”
Looking at funding, the release noted that in 2019, the school district was able to procure federal funding for the project, which was broken into phases.
A first phase included placing approximately 3.5 miles of fiber to service the middle school, Barrie and Rockwell elementary schools and the high school, the release stated, adding that construction was slated to begin in the fall of 2019.
Explaining costs within the release, Scullin said: “The most expensive thing with a construction project like this is getting all the equipment on site and the first shovel in the ground. The fiber and the handholes are relatively cheap. One of the smart things we did, knowing that the district was indeed moving forward with the project, was to connect the construction company who won the bid with the city. They independently procured quotes to upsize the fiber count, and added handholes near city buildings and commercial corridors to stage them for connection at a later time.”
Selle continued: “We looked at proposals to build all the way down to the business park, passing our park and recreation and wastewater treatment buildings, but the city didn’t have access to any grants or federal money like the district did. So we broke the project up into phases with plans to expand the network at a future date, hopefully with grant funds.”
The first phase of the project was completed in 2020, according to the release.
In March of that year, the release continued, The United States Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included $10 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
ARPA funds were earmarked by the federal government to be spent by states and other qualifying governmental agencies for capital projects.
The funds could be used to offset costs related to COVID-19 and improve government communications for remote work. Fiber-optic networks were listed as an approved project, according to the release.
“This was the funding opportunity needed to expand the fiber network,” the release stated.
In 2021, a second phase of the project was completed, adding 4.5 miles to the network, expanding it south along the bike path to include the city’s Department of Public Works building, wastewater plant, water tower and the business park.
According to the release, funds to support an expansion of the second phase were identified by Selle, who, the release stated, contacted neighboring municipalities, and was “able to gather up unused funds to further expand the project all the way to a main trunk line south of the city along the highway 26 bypass.”
Responding to questions asked by Fort Atkinson Online, Selle said: “The first round of CARES Act funds were dispersed with very tight restrictions on what they could be used for and deadlines to have the funds spent. Many surrounding communities were not able to use all of the funding within these restrictions. The state indicated that unused funds could be ‘earmarked’ to another municipality instead of allowing them all to go back into the collective state account.”
The towns of Hebron and Koshkonong, and the city of Lake Mills had funds that they were unable to use, Selle said. They earmarked their remaining balances to help support the FASTR project, he added.
Said Selle: “We just happened to have a project that qualified and was easily scaled up as the funding opportunity increased.”
There is no future benefit for these entities, he said, adding that they were “just simply being good neighbors.”
The total investment in both phases of the network was just over $500,000, with nearly all of it coming through grants, the release continued.
Selle added: “It has been the perfect collaboration. DJ understands the technical aspects of the fiber optic network and its configuration and I am able to manage the construction of the network on the ground and maintain the infrastructure into the future.”
WIN Technology, available business services
According to the release, “Scullin and Selle strategized on how to share the fiber investment with local businesses along the network path.”
Bids were sought to find an internet service provider, with the accepted bid supplied by WIN Technology, the release continued.
According to the company’s website, WIN Technology is “owned by 31 Wisconsin-based independent telephone companies. WIN also owns and operates several associated technology companies.”
“WIN has a track record of similar partnerships around the state, providing solutions for businesses using municipally owned fiber,” Scullin was quoted as saying in the release.
Selle continued: “They were also open to the discounted rates that DJ and I wanted for Fort Atkinson business customers since FASTR had already paid for and built the backbone of the network.”
According to the release: “The WIN broadband service over the FASTR network will provide broadband internet to businesses backed by a live-answer customer support line, 24/7/365 network monitoring and emergency repair, and discounted monthly rates for business customers.”
“We are excited to partner with Fort Atkinson to offer reliable, high-speed broadband to public entities and businesses of Fort Atkinson, and are thrilled that they chose a Wisconsin-based provider,” WIN Technology CEO Scott Hoffmann was quoted as saying in the release.
Business owners interested in learning more about WIN Technology can contact Network Strategy and Carrier Sales Senior Director Tom Schuchart, by phone: 920-840-6861 or email: tom.schuchart@wintechnology.com or Director, Enterprise Sales Craig Kamphius, by phone: 715-858-3187, or email: craig.kamphius@wintechnology.com.
Next steps: residential service
According to the release, Scullin and Selle are looking at options to provide broadband to residential customers, including students, within the school district, which, the release noted, includes areas beyond the city limits of Fort Atkinson.
The two officials continue to seek grant opportunities and recently submitting a $5 million proposal to the Public Service Commission that, the release continued, “was unfortunately not funded.”
Said Scullin: “A similar opportunity is on the horizon, but we learned from feedback on the previous grant that we need to grow our partnership to be more competitive.”
FASTR has since engaged with Jefferson County Administrator Ben Wehmeier, who, according to the release, also has been working to provide county business owners and residents with broadband access.
Those interested in learning more about broadband development can contact Selle, by phone: 920-563-7760, or email: aselle@fortatkinsonwi.net, or Scullin, by phone: 920-563-7873, or email: dj@fortschools.org.
This story has been updated to include comments from City Engineer Andy Selle.
This post has already been read 1847 times!
