Faster Internet? What’s next after City Council vote

CenturyLink‘s plan to offer 1-gigabit Internet service in neighborhoods including West Seattle got a boost from the City Council today. Councilmembers voted to change the rules for the cabinets that are required to extend fiber service. Full details are in this city news release. A PR firm for CLink pinged us afterward, saying that the company’s local leadership is working with “aerial fiber” to extend service this year and next. We asked if they had any West Seattle specifics yet – where, when, etc. – short answer, no.

dsa September 29, 2014 (11:26 pm)

The council always seems to cave in:
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Eliminating “veto power” from adjacent property owner as currently required in SDOT Director’s Rule 2-2009.
Eliminating requirement of obtaining 60% approval from within 100 feet on proposed installation as currently required by SDOT Director’s Rule 2-2009
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They could have demanded giving those within 100 feet a 5% rate break.

cj September 30, 2014 (2:15 am)

We need something. One high speed ISP with out any real competition is just dangerous.

cjboffoli September 30, 2014 (7:15 am)

Considering that there are only three months left in this year, this news is very exciting indeed.

westseattledood September 30, 2014 (9:18 am)

That *is* soon!

Finally, a city that walks the technology talk.

Trickycoolj September 30, 2014 (9:47 am)

I have been secretly hoping the utility work that they cut trenches for at 35th and Morgan for several weeks recently was for CLink. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but High Point seems logical since we have brand new underground lines that I would hope would easily connect to gigabit as soon as it’s delivered to the area.

Steve September 30, 2014 (2:55 pm)

C-Link is quick to advertise the service but if you check their website, nada in my South Alki neighborhood. They do offer their dismal 3Mbps service though! Pitiful. Would love an alternative to the robber-barons at Comcast!

Civik September 30, 2014 (4:05 pm)

Steve, until internet access is a public utility, they are all robber barons with a monopoly where they are implemented.

Ted September 30, 2014 (4:37 pm)

Glad I did not have to spearhead the campaign to eliminate the backward rules that were tantamount to preventing any possibility of high-speed DSL in our neighborhood get SOME competition in broadband for WS ! ( Glad the council is not apparently in Comcast’s pocket)

Brian Wade September 30, 2014 (6:02 pm)

I’ve been using Integra’s 20M Broadband DSL for over three years now and am loving it. I’m in Gatewood and get about 9Mb. Any location north of here should get it even faster. It’s built for business so you don’t have to reboot the modem 3 times per month. If you need a better solution today, instead of someday, give me a shout at (206) 420-0140 or http://www.caissontechnologies.com

Julie September 30, 2014 (6:32 pm)

This needs to be a public utility. CenturyLink will probably charge your firstborn child to upgrade to this service.

WSRedux September 30, 2014 (7:05 pm)

A logical solution to cabinets on the parking strips would be to place them in concrete utility vaults sunk in the parking strips & bury the fiber optic cables in protected pipe. would reduce maintenance & protect service in disasters. Why does Seattle, with stunning views have to have its utilities look like a 3rd world city?