urbanMSP

My year of CenturyLink 50 mbps for $30/mo ended a month ago, so I had to downgrade to 12 mbps when they jacked my rate up to $70+. Since then I'm not getting anywhere close to 12 mpbs... I'm getting much less, including 0.x K!!!bps uploads. It's maddening. I'll hold out with CL if I know I can get USI shortly, otherwise I'll flip back to Comcast to get another promo rate for a year.

When I signed up for CL (I did it at a mall kiosk I'm just the worst) the guy said that after a year you should just call and threaten to cancel and they'll hook you up with another year on the cheap.

Holy hell I'll be glad for USI just to get out of the stupid promo pricing nonsense.

^It really is the best feature.

Sorry for the delay in posting the 2015 plan, we have expanded the amount of area we are going to cover for 2015 so the logistics have been taking longer then expected.

Scope for 2015 includes filling in areas we missed during the last couple years, Lyndale, Blaisdell, Wentworth, 1st, Stevens, "The Mall" in Uptown, Lynnhurst, Part of Tangletown, Field, Regina, Northrop, Bryant, and Bancroft neighborhoods.

We are going to use a new technology to cover Nicollet, Bryant, Grand, and Hennepin, this area will only qualify for up to 50mb to start, so the 25mb and 50mb speeds will be available on these streets.

Maps and specific addresses will be updated on the fiber.usinternet.com site soon.

I have left some money and time available for additional 2015 expansion, we are exploring other areas currently and if time and weather permit we will expand the scope for 2015.

We are working on the order site currently and should be able to take pre-orders for the 2015 build area soon.

Thanks for everyone's support and we are working hard to get everyone service as soon as possible.

-Travis

Thanks for the update, Travis. Is there anything you can share about the new technology you're deploying on Hennepin, Nicollet, etc. and why they won't get full gigabit fiber?

Ahh, Bancroft. How about a little further east to Standish! Guess I'll hope for 2016.

Scope for 2015 includes filling in areas we missed during the last couple years, Lyndale, Blaisdell, Wentworth, 1st, Stevens, "The Mall" in Uptown, Lynnhurst, Part of Tangletown, Field, Regina, Northrop, Bryant, and Bancroft neighborhoods.

-Travis

Woohoo!

Scope for 2015 includes filling in areas we missed during the last couple years, Lyndale, Blaisdell, Wentworth, 1st, Stevens, "The Mall" in Uptown, Lynnhurst, Part of Tangletown, Field, Regina, Northrop, Bryant, and Bancroft neighborhoods.

-Travis

::happy dance::

Sorry for the delay in posting the 2015 plan, we have expanded the amount of area we are going to cover for 2015 so the logistics have been taking longer then expected.
...
Thanks for everyone's support and we are working hard to get everyone service as soon as possible.

-Travis

Thank you so much for communicating through this forum!

Soooo Travis, have you folks ever thought about opening up this process? I'd wonder if there would be the possibility of some sort of kickstarter-like approach...provide an avenue whereby those of us in particular areas of the city who currently do not have service and don't have any near term prospect might be able to help you to make it happen in our area.

I'd tend to assume that you have a bias in favor of streets with heavier concentrations of apartments because it seems as though that allows for a more substantial revenue stream. Is that true?

I also feel like your service is so far beyond anything else that is available for the money that it would be worth paying a premium for a time if it would help you to consider building out in an area in which you currently don't have plans.

Ironically money isn't the number one issue in rolling this network out, I would rank them as follows;

#1 - Winter, we loose November 16-April 14 each year due to fact that our network is installed underground and once the frost comes, we are basically done.

#2 - Process, over the last few years we have been rolling out in phases, normal year for us has been 10 phases, in 2015 we are planning on doing 28 phases, based on this success we will have a duplicate-able process and will really be able to start more rapid expansion.

#3 - Limited expansion options, due to facility and transport costs associated with this network is makes more financial sense to continue the network in a contiguous deployment, so it really isn't that hard to figure out where we are going next

#4 - Money, capital is very available now, so with the success of #2, this becomes less and less of an issue.

We have focused on the areas where we had high percentage of Internet users based on our experience with the City Wifi network. Apartment buildings add an extra bonus as we can work on them year round, 2014 season was our first where we were able to install and cable apartments all winter long.

2015 season we start to see a much more rapid single family home strategy, so our hope is we can get the word out and people will be excited when we get to their street. Fingers crossed the weather this summer is kind to us.

Thanks.

-Travis

Ahh, Bancroft. How about a little further east to Standish! Guess I'll hope for 2016.

See you in 2016

More info on CenturyLink's "Prism" TV service proposal: http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy ... ition-city

Does anyone know why CL needs a franchise right from the city? Yet firms like Sling obviously don't have any such requirement? Seems like TV is simply just one more IP service, and there are thousands of categories of IP-based subscription services that require no such license.

Is Prism an IP based service? Either way, the fact that it requires "buildout" would seem to qualify it as something needing a Franchise. If Sling needed to put infrastructure in the ground to connect it to every house I'm sure it would need franchise rights too.

Prism is an IPTV service, but it works just like Cable of Google Fiber's TV service. The only difference between Comcast and an CenturyLink's TV services is that they are passed over different wires.

Here's a good link which compares the two types of services. http://electronicdesign.com/ios/iptv-vs-cable

But, in this century, when all other IP services do not necessitate a municipal franchise, what makes *this* IP service any different?

But, in this century, when all other IP services do not necessitate a municipal franchise, what makes *this* IP service any different?

Possibly because they're offering it on their own lines with which they already have a franchise agreement, versus Netflix or someone piggybacking on someone else's lines.

There was some mention of build outs too, which may necessitate it.

Not the the franchise laws have really kept up with the times much...

Getting the franchise agreement must also give them more access to laying fiber. Yes, they could technically offer the TV service over the internet, but most people in Minneapolis still get their internet from Comcast. There wouldn't be much incentive for customers to pay Comcast for Internet and CenturyLink for TV.

So, is USI Fiber exempt from these coverage requirements because they haven't been building a network for a regulated (phone/cable) utility?