Lumen anchors utility lease model for Springfield, Missouri's fiber rollout

Municipal-owned City Utilities of Springfield (MO) is more than halfway done with the construction of a more than 1,000-mile fiber network that will cover the entire city, with work expected to wrap in late 2022 around eight to nine months ahead of schedule. Lumen Technologies, which is pursuing a rapid expansion of its residential fiber footprint, is set to serve as an anchor tenant on the network and will deliver symmetric gigabit internet to Springfield’s 180,000 residents and businesses. Jeff Reiman, president of the Broadband Group (TBG), said Springfield’s fiber buildout is structured by a utility lease model, a framework that serves the city utility’s interests and respects the metrics of the industry. TBG, which provides city and community-wide broadband planning consultation, also oversaw a fiber deployment in Huntsville (AL) where Google Fiber was the city utility's first tenant. Springfield’s utility lease model is similar to what TBG did in Huntsville, Reiman said. Springfield’s City Utilities invested $120 million over a four-year period for the project. Reiman explained this structure attracts qualified anchor tenants like Lumen and Google Fiber – companies with the financial means to pay the long-term lease the utility expects.