State leaders joined city and town officials Monday to announce the start of their effort to improve broadband internet speed and reliability across the state.
“There is a need today for cheaper, easier access to ultra-high speed internet access,” said Connecticut Consumer Counsel Elin Katz.
Katz and State Sen. Beth Bye said Connecticut has been left out in the cold compared to other cities and states across the country when it comes to broadband and fiber projects.
The systems are known in tech circles as “Gigabit” networks.
Twenty-nine cities around the United States have access to gigabit networks through several providers that include AT&T, Google, Centurylink and Cox.
“None of these places are in New England,” Katz said.
Three municipalities have partnered with the state in sending out the request for qualifications – New Haven, West Hartford and Stamford.
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State officials insist that creating the new networks isn’t just an infrastructure improvement.
“This is about economic development,” Bye said during the press conference.
Katz explained that the average Internet speed for a household in Connecticut is about 9 megabits and the goal is to improve that to about 1,000 megabits.
Representatives from tech companies in attendance applauded the state’s effort to improve their business conditions.
“This is a proud moment for a tech startup to be in Connecticut,” said Zack Beatty with SeeClickFix, a New Haven-based company that allows users to report non-emergency issues that are going on in their neighborhoods.
“It’s a very exciting tech scene but we’ve reached a point where we’re seeing the tech community grow in New Haven, in Connecticut and beyond and yet you’re not seeing the infrastructure grow with it,” Beatty said.
He said improved broadband would allow employees to work seamlessly from home without issues.
“It’s not about bandwidth. It’s about reliability,” Beatty said.
The initial RFQ was sent to prospective Internet partners and state officials said they expect to receive more information on the future of high-speed broadband in November.
