Hamilton, Ohio, to offer broadband to all businesses

Hamilton (OH) has offered broadband services for some businesses during a beta test, but now is opening it up to any business in the city. City Council approved legislation that will implement a permanent offering for broadband services. “The intent is to provide local, reliable, affordable utilities to our customers and to provide those at a level of service that’s requested by our community,” said Edwin Porter, Hamilton’s executive director of Infrastructure. The program is working with and through Southwest Ohio Computer Association to receive broadband services and distribute those services to Hamilton’s business customers. Broadband services would be transferred to the city’s existing fiber system, which was established in 2004. New customers must pay $1.32 per foot to extend the fiber service from the closest available Hamilton fiber connection point to the point of use at their business, Porter said. Customers will also pay for the cost of equipment necessary, which the initial equipment is $5 per month. There are five varying levels of broadband connection speeds, which are catered to businesses. Speeds range from 50 Mbps (megabytes per second) at $100 per month base rate to 1,000 Mbps at $500 per month base rate. The broadband service will be a line item on the business customer’s utility bill.