Finding the Right Partner: A Broadband PPP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The city of Lancaster launched a broadband project over ten years ago and faced challenges right from the start.
The Mayor of Lancaster, Danen Sorace, has highlighted two primary reasons as to why the project failed. First, the city acted prematurely by launching the initiative at a time when very few cities were undertaking a similar project. Second, and more importantly, the city chose the wrong partner. Specifically, Lancaster partnered with MAW Communications (“MAW”), a firm that lacked a robust track record in building and operating broadband networks. When MAW launched its residential service in 2017, lawsuits immediately surfaced over unauthorized connections made to utility poles owned by electric provider PPL. In addition, a legal dispute arose between the city and MAW over legal costs that resulted in an agreement in 2021 wherein the city agreed to pay MAW $1.2 million and forgive a $1.5 million loan, while MAW would relinquish ownership of the 16-mile fiber network it had built up to that year.
Once the partnership between the city and MAW dissolved in 2021, the city worked with a consulting firm before making the decision to look for another third-party vendor. The mayor shared, “It could take an active role in running the network, which offered the opportunity to earn revenue but came with considerable operational overhead and risk; or it could bring in a turnkey third-party vendor like Shentel,” and found that, “The alternative would require engineering and technical knowledge that the city simply doesn’t have.” Several vendors then submitted proposals, including Comcast, FirstLight, Keystone Metro Fiber, Shenendoah Telecom, and Windstream.
The city selected Shentel, an experienced ISP based in Edinburg, Virginia, to complete the $5.4 million partly built-out network of fiber optic cable and make affordable high-speed Internet service available to all households in the city. The contract will specifically permit Shentel to lease, maintain, and operate the existing fiber, install additional fiber, and ensure the funding design, installation, and maintenance necessary to ensure uniform broadband availability to the city of 57,000. The buildout will require further coordination on the project with PPL for a project completion date of 2026. The mayor has emphasized that this relaunch reflects the same goal they always have had: “Provide a backbone for the city’s IT services, such as remote water meter reading; offer all city residents access to affordable high-speed internet; and support economic development.”
In sum, after attempting to build a more traditional municipal broadband network with MAW, Lancaster shifted gears and embraced a PPP with Shentel, a more experienced ISP that is better positioned to deliver fiber broadband services to its residents. This case study not only underscores the value and benefits of forging PPPs to address broadband issues – it also highlights the importance of selecting the right partner to improve service.