EWEB redefines
fiber-optic plans
■ The public utility will move
more slowly in buildinga
system for high-speed
Internet and cable services
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Despite winning voter approval
last November to provide fiber-op
tic Internet service, the Eugene
Water and Electric Board won’t be
building the infrastructure needed
for such a system any time in the
near future.
EWEB officials decided last
week that building the system
within the next three years, as the
original plan intended, wasn’t fi
nancially feasible. Instead, EWEB
officials are considering a 10-year
timeline to provide high-speed In
ternet and cable services, EWEB
spokeswoman Cathy Hamilton
said. *
“The [original plan] would have
been a full build out within three
years,” Hamilton said. “We’re re
defining that plan.”
EWEB is now refocusing on a
network that would ‘build out,’ or
expand, in phases, rather than at
all at once.
The public utility board cur
rently has a core system of 70
miles of fiber optics connecting
several EWEB substations, Hamil
ton said. EWEB uses this core to
run its electric utility service and
for security, but the utility could
expand the system to offer
telecommunications services.
Nine months ago, voters ap
proved giving EWEB charter au
thority to provide a publicly
owned telecommunications sys
tem to the city of Eugene.
Since gaining voter approval,
EWEB has looked into providing
cable television, but utility offi
cials decided that there wasn’t
enough revenue to pay for the sys
tem, Hamilton said. There is the
possibility EWEB would provide
television in the future, but further
research is needed, she said.
“Right now we’re just talking
about the infrastructure, not the
service,” Hamilton said. “Regard
less of who provides the service, a
fiber-optic infrastructure provides
EWEB timeline
May 2000: Eugene voters approve a
charter amendment allowing EWEB
to provide telecommunications
service.
May 2000 through January 2001:
EWEB researches the financial
feasibility of providing citywide
telecommunications service.
Feb. 6,2001: The EWEB board
votes to postpone building the
telecommunications system. The
original plan gave the project a
three-year timeline, but EWEB
officials now plan to build the
system within 10 years.
speed that is unprecedented — un
like anything that is existing now.”
Though some have suggested
EWEB cut costs by investing in
older technology, utility officials
said they want to offer cutting
edge technology.
‘‘They’ve committed to building
a next-generation system, similar
to Ethernet in the [University resi
dence halls],” said Dale Smith, as
sistant director of Network Ser
vices for the University. “Called
‘Metronet,’ it will not compete
with Qwest or AT&T because it is a
new offering of services which you
can’t get from anyone else right
now.”
But this technology doesn’t exist
in a cost-effective form, Smith
said.
The potential service that EWEB
is considering is similar to those
offered by Qwest and AT&T, but
uses technology offering much
higher speeds of access, Smith
said.
“As far as EWEB goes, as long as
they have to abide by the same
rules, we don’t have a problem
with them entering the market,”
said Bill Prows, Qwest’s area man
ager for Eugene.
EWEB has also discussed the
possibility of allowing other serv
ice providers to access the EWEB
fiber optic lines to provide service.
“We would be looking at if the
cost would be appropriate, be
cause we are doing it in other areas
of the state,” Prows said.
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