The project, unveiled in 2018, would see internet infrastructure developer SiFi Networks install fiber optic cable connections capable of delivering 10 gigabit speeds to every business and residential address in East Hartford. SiFi was to conduct the “FiberCity” project independently from the town, installing cable below the tree belt or under streets with its own equipment and employees.
A survey conducted by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities earlier this year showed that Connecticut consumers want more affordable and reliable internet service.
Walsh said the town signed a contract with SiFi giving it until 2025 to get the cable in the ground, but the town expects to know by the end of October if and how the project would move forward.
“A couple things should be clear by that date, if not sooner,” Mayor Mike Walsh said.
SiFi announced the beginning of the construction phase of the project in May 2022, backed by a $42 million private investment.
Walsh said the difficult lending market caused SiFi’s investor to pull funding during the winter construction break, putting the project in limbo. He said the company is also in the process of searching for a new vendor for its “microtrenching” equipment, one of the key parts of its initial pitch. SiFi officials have said the machinery used would limit disruptions to traffic and allow for faster completion of the installation.
A spokesperson from SiFi said the company remains committed to the East Hartford project and plans to return to construction shortly, noting that SiFi has “strong institutional investor relations” and raised $350 million in financing in June.
Walsh said East Hartford will depend on SiFi’s ability to reestablish funding on its own.
“This is a private investment,” Walsh said. “The town of East Hartford does not expect or even contemplate to put our own money into this.”
Traditionally, fiber optic networks are built by internet service providers to connect their customers exclusively to their network. Once SiFi’s network is online, the company would rent usage of the line to internet providers, allowing them to reach customers without installing their own fiber. SiFi previously lined up Flume Internet as the first provider available through the “open access network.”
Connor Martin, Walsh’s chief of staff, said SiFi’s network would provide more options to residents to choose what service they actually want, rather than being restricted to which providers can run lines to their house.
“The more options available, the more competition there is,” Martin said.
East Hartford would be SiFi’s first “FiberCity” in Connecticut. The company is currently operating, constructing, or planning 38 networks in 10 other states, 26 of which are located in California.
Walsh said the state did not allow private entities to run lines on utility poles when the project began, making underground installation necessary, but that has since changed. He said internet service provider GoNetspeed is leveraging this to invest $2.7 million of its own funding into fiber in East Hartford as part of a closed network similar to Comcast or Frontier.
“These represent competitors who are taking advantage of SiFi’s inability to get in the ground quickly and capture these customers,” Walsh said. “This is competition assessing where they want to make investments.”
GoNetspeed’s new network, announced last month, aims to provide 1 gigabit speeds to some 6,700 addresses. Its lines will only provide for its internet service, but the company expects to connect customers as soon as this winter.
“I have to compliment GoNetspeed because they’re choosing East Hartford to invest in, and that’s always welcome,” Walsh said.
