City of Morganton prepares for hefty fiber-to-home investment

The City of Morganton is planning to roll out fiber-to-home internet access to all residents, a service that officials say is essential to keep the city-run CoMPAS X-Stream system competitive with companies like AT&T and Spectrum.

City staff outlined plans for the expansion during their winter budget workshop, saying the project could take until the end of the decade to complete and early estimates say the city-wide rollout could cost around $7 million, though the final amount will not be known until bids are received.

Whether there will be an increase in monthly fees is uncertain at this time, according to IRMS/Cable Director Greg Branch. However, there will be no upfront installation fee, and he expects that long-term internet rates will trend downward. To cover the cost of a citywide rollout, the city would likely have to borrow funds to complete the project.

City Manager Sally Sandy said staff have already explored federal funding sources, but have not been successful, and don’t expect to be successful with the state funding either.

“We’ve shaken all the trees,” Sandy said.

The urge for the city to invest in fiber-to-home services comes as companies like AT&T and Spectrum are getting federal funds to bring fiber-optic, high-speed internet to rural and underserved areas, according to Branch.

“By the end of the decade, if we haven’t done that, somebody’s going to do it,” Branch said. “And so, I feel strongly that if we’re going to be in that game, we’re going to continue in this communications area, we’re going to have to be on board to keep up.”

“This is going to be crucial to the future of CoMPAS X-Stream as we know it now,” Branch said.

Some CoMPAS customers have left to get their service through AT&T or Spectrum, but some have come back because of the CoMPAS department’s customer service, Branch said.

“Not just cable TV, internet, and stuff like that, but Morganton residents don’t realize how spoiled they are,” Branch said. “And when we talk about garbage collection and all those things that we provide, they don’t necessarily see how good they have it until they don’t have it.”

The goal is to have the citywide fiber-to-home rollout completed by the end of the decade. Out of the city’s network, which is split into 43 nodes or neighborhoods, two areas currently have access to fiber. Those areas include Node 1, closest to the network operations center, at Shore Drive, View Street, Kirk Street, Wrighton Street, Setzer Drive, Curtis Street, Harold Street, Pennell Street, Ula Street, Brooksie Street, and sections of Rockyford Street, Vinearden Road, Center Street, and Ridge Street.

Node 34, includes Beacon Avenue, Craftsman Drive, Old Salem Road, Lee Loop, and sections of Burkemont Avenue, Walker Road, and Fletcher Street. Currently, there are 33 subscribers that are using the piloted fiber-to-home services, according to Branch.

The CoMPAS department has been gradually expanding fiber service, with Nodes 35 and 36 on track to be completed by the end of the current budget year in June, Branch said. As neighborhoods gain access to fiber-optic on their streets, customers can opt in for the service and CoMPAS staff will come out and connect the customer from the street.

The service would make the system much more reliable, Branch said. Fiber-optic is more reliable than coaxial cable because it’s not as reliant on power, and it doesn’t have as many limitations when it comes to bandwidth and interruptions.

“Coax is metal. It’s got stuff in there that reacts to noise or interference, where fiber-optic is light. It doesn’t have that, and you don’t have to have power equipment to run it as much,” Branch said.

The city’s system is already built as a hybrid network designed for fiber, meaning most of the work would involve running fiber lines directly to homes in place of coax, which is why the project is so expensive, Branch said.

“It gets a whole lot more expensive in neighborhoods that are underground. A lot of our stuff is hung up and it’s aerial, but when you start getting into some of the newer neighborhoods that are all underground, it’s expensive,” Branch said.

“I feel like we’ve been pretty fortunate in the last several years to make a lot of improvements. We just want to continue,” Branch said.