Q. Do I have to participate in the project?
A: No. Participation is voluntary.
Q. Why should I participate?
A: EUGNet will bring competitively priced broadband to your building. Talk to your tenants to see if they are interested.
Q. How much will it cost me?
A: Getting your building connected to EUGNet is a necessary first step, before tenants can order internet services from internet service providers. The one-time connection fee is $2,000 (a fee that is highly subsidized by the City of Eugene). Connecting to the network may require upgrades to your building’s telecommunications infrastructure (“internal wiring”).
Q. What is the internal wiring?
A: The one-time $2,000 connection fee brings fiber to the inside of the building. The fiber will need to be connected to every floor. For multi-tenant buildings, EUGNet recommends that building owners meet EUGNet specifications so that each building be ‘open access’ for every tenant. The internal wiring will be built to ensure that any ISP can serve individual tenants, and no single ISP can prevent any other ISP from serving that building.
The purpose of this project is to offer every business in the downtown area an opportunity to quickly connect to their choice of providers to get world class broadband. We want to make broadband in downtown what water or electricity is now: one of those essentials that a tenant assumes is available as they move in. To do that the buildings need to have a certain level of infrastructure ready for the providers and their customers. If this basic infrastructure is available, getting connected will be the same as getting the furniture moved in.
Q. How much will the internal wiring cost?
A: Every building is going to be different, so we cannot give you a definitive answer. As a part of the planning for the project we visited a number of buildings to try to develop a scope. The estimate is that, for most buildings, the cost will be somewhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 per floor. There should be little or no maintenance costs for twenty years or more.
Q. How do I get the internal wiring done?
A: Before the project starts construction, we will provide a list of specifications for the work. These are not mandatory, but are designed to bring the benefits of the project to your tenants. The specifications will be such that any contractor who has done “low-voltage” electrical work should be able to do the work. We will also provide a list of contractors whom we have reviewed and found to be experienced and knowledgeable concerning this type of installation. We suggest that the contractor you select talk with you, your tenants and with the providers who might want to come into your building to design the best system for your building.
Q. You keep talking about providers (plural) why, and what if my tenants want to keep their current telecommunications provider?
A: EUGNet will not try to pressure any tenant or any building owner to change. We think that the value of the project speaks for itself. One of the values of the project is competition. The current providers in your building will be able to sell to anyone that wants to purchase from them. We have offered all providers the opportunity to participate in EUGNET, and that offer stands. What we found in the pilot project is that the open access network attracts competitors to enter the field. We have already seen prices come way down and the quality of services go up. We found that bringing multiple strands of fiber to a building and having the internal wiring available made it easy for a tenant to choose and quickly connect to the provider that they chose. We found that having the fiber and internal wiring available meant that a tenant could quickly switch providers. Even when they did not choose to switch, the possibility that they could keeps the market competitive. This makes it possible for multiple providers to get customers in a building (by having multiple strands of fiber into the building, having space for the providers in the building and installed internal wiring) keeps competition available.
Q. When can I sign up?
A: Sign up here. After you submit the form, an official representative from will contact you to answer your questions and discuss the construction schedule. Payment for the one-time construction fee will be collected after construction has been scheduled. Remember that not all buildings will be connected at once, and the construction will take about 18 months. You will also receive a copy of the Building Connection Agreement Packet.