City of Eagle (ID) powering up its own fiber network with ARPA funds

The City of Eagle (ID) is putting most of its federal COVID relief dollars to work building a city-wide broadband network. In the past two years, Eagle has spent $4.7 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward planning and developing a network of broadband fiber in the Boise suburb. This goes along with the city’s declaration in the past year that broadband is an essential public utility and new city requirements for new developers to put in internet fiber connecting every home. Mayor Jason Pierce, who has a background in cable communications companies, said his goal is to use the system to wire up anyone in the city who wants a gigabyte of download and upgrade speeds at their home for around $50 a month. He says this is targeted at existing subdivisions cable companies haven’t served with fiber because of Eagle’s lower density, which means cable companies won’t make as much of a profit per mile of fiber dug as they would in denser cities like Meridian. Mayor Pierce said his main goal was a network the people of Eagle own themselves and prevent companies from having to go in years down the line and dig up miles of streets to install their own conduit if the network ever changes hands.