Superior City-Owned Internet Infrastructure Project Breaks Ground

Superior officials broke ground on a highly anticipated project to connect every home and business in the city to a new fiber network.

The first section of the project begins near Baxter Avenue and North 16th Street. When completed, the new fiber network will be able to connect about 850 homes and businesses to the internet. That portion alone will cost about $7 million, with funding being provided by Covid-19 pandemic-era relief money.

The full project, which officials expect to take between five and eight years to complete, will cost between $40 million and $60 million. According to a Northern News Now report, Superior Mayor Jim Paine says the goal is to provide residents with more options that could be either more affordable or faster than the service provided by another company.

He also noted the importance of internet access for education as schools continue to add modern teaching strategies. From grade school to college, access to the internet has become increasingly mandatory for students to keep up with their studies.

Construction on the first portion of the project is expected to be finished this year, and residents of the neighborhood will be able to access the new city-owned internet by December. Mayor Paine says the project is a for-profit venture, so money raised through residents signing up for the service will help lower future payments and allow the city to pay for the expansion of the program in other neighborhoods.

City officials plan to share information on how residents can register for the new internet service in the weeks to come.