The City of Seminole is entertaining the notion of venturing into the fiber optic communications business.

City Manager Steve Saxon told the city council during its monthly meeting last week that citizens are demanding better inter net bandwidth, and the city could generate revenue by becoming a fiber optic provider.

“The Seminole Economic Development Council (SEDC) several months ago recognized a huge issue within the city, that is the availability of bandwidth for those who work from home,” Saxon said. “Ironically, at the same time, Suddenlink had just sold and their service was coming into question. We were getting a lot of phone calls and we continue to get a lot of calls at city hall regarding the lack of access to bandwidth. I think most of us agree that today, fiber optics and good bandwidth is a necessity.”

According to Saxon, the SEDC did an extensive study with MRL, a fiber optics engineering firm that has helped cities such as Tuttle and Sallisaw connect their communities. The data from the survey suggests that Seminole could see cashflow within three years of launching its own service.

“Data shows that if we could run fiber optics through the city and penetrate the market and capture 30 percent of those that currently have broadband, or are paying a service like Suddenlink, we would have cashflow,” Saxon said.

“Some of the communities are seeing higher market penetration rates. If we could capture 40 percent or more of the market, then it becomes a utility that can generate money back to the city for swimming pools, parks and things that improve the community,” Saxon added.

According to Saxon, the SEDC cannot do such a project on its own, so he is looking to the city council to take it on. Saxon said grants and loans for fiber optics may be available through the CARES Act, which provides COVID relief funds to businesses and entities.

“Even after this survey, the need for fiber optics seems to be coming to a crescendo. It’s clear that there is an outcry from our people…they want better access to bandwidth,” Saxon said.

No action was taken on the matter at Tuesday’s meeting, but the council expressed interest in the project.

“A lot of people don’t realize that some business phone systems are internet-based. If you don’t have good internet, you have no phone and you have no way of working,” said Cory Crabtree, who represents Seminole’s Ward III.

Saxon indicated he would present the council with a formal proposal in the near future.

“I will give you forewarning that I will come back to you. We are going to go ahead and take some more steps,” Saxon said. “I will eventually come back to you and say if we get a certain amount of relief money, how much of that do you want to allocate to fiber optics versus some of the other things the community has, and you’ll have to weigh the priorities and funding options. It is a high priority for the ranking agencies to get bandwidth to the rural areas.”

Fiber optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared light through an optical fiber. The light is a form of carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is preferred over electrical cabling when high bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to electromagnetic interference is required.