Public Power - January/February 2008 - (Page 44) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Broadband Nets a One-Two Economic Punch in Bristol By Cathy Swirbul Virginia Utilities (BVU) persevered through a maze of lawsuits and rate cases to raise its claim as the first U.S. entity to offer triple-play services (phone, cable and Internet) using fiber-to-the-premises technology. The resulting broadband network, called OptiNet, began operating in 2003. The world took notice and the calls to BVU from people wondering how the utility pulled it off have been non-stop ever since. “We have some scars on us through the process, and with scars come experience,” said BVU President and CEO Wes Rosenbalm. “Many municipali- Bristol • System management and operations; • 24/7 or after-hours customer service and network operations; • Technical support and network monitoring; • Strategic marketing services. “We’ve done it all in Bristol, and we can pass on that experience to others,” said Sandy Crusenberry, executive director of BVU FOCUS. “I think many municipals will contact us to get help with the beginning stages of broadband, such as how to work with incumbents and how to deal with the misinformation that is put out by those who oppose municipals getting into broadband. There may also be strong interest in our engineering, design and operations services.” MI-Connection, a consortium Connection. “How would we operate the system, and would it be financially viable? BVU FOCUS stood head and shoulders above the other firms we looked at hiring to help us with these questions.” Webster said his company was impressed that BVU had overbuilt its system and then more than doubled its market penetration share in Bristol from 30 to 65 percent since 2004. Company officials were also impressed with BVU’s customer service, which was recognized with a 2007 Cornerstone Award for Outstanding Customer Service from Broadband Properties magazine. “Once this system is up and running, I think it will be a good footprint for people to see how BVU FOCUS can manage a broadband and cable system “We have some scars on us through the process, and with scars come experience,” said BVU President and CEO Wes Rosenbalm. “ ties and private companies came to Bristol to see how we did it. We even had a group from Australia visit. It became taxing on our time so we had internal discussions about creating a new consulting division within the company and charging for that service.” What spun out of those discussions was BVU FOCUS, which stands for Finding Opportunities for Communities Throughout the United States. BVU FOCUS, established in August 2007, offers: • Engineering feasibility studies and design services; • Business plan development; • Forecasting and budget analysis; • Phone switch services; 44 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008 of three townships and a portion of Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, signed on as BVU FOCUS’s first customer in August 2007. BVU FOCUS is negotiating contracts with other potential customers.. The town councils of Davidson and Mooresville voted in mid-August to acquire the cable and Internet system once owned by bankrupt Adelphia Cable. Cornelius and the unincorporated portion of Mecklenburg County do not share that ownership but participate by agreeing that MI-Connection should serve residents in their communities. “We had two big questions,” said Evan Webster, chairman of the board of directors at MI- from top to bottom,” Rosenbalm said. The Adelphia system MIConnection has purchased will initially serve about 10,500 customers. “The system has only achieved a 35 percent penetration rate, though the industry average is about 60 percent,” Webster said. “This is because the system has been so poorly run and has lost a lot of subscribers. We plan on improving the system, improving the services and picking up those subscribers again.” MI-Connection’s five- to eight-year contract with BVU FOCUS has added 16 new jobs to the Bristol area. Two additional jobs are being added to PUBLIC POWER
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