Nixa settles on SiFi 'gigabit' deal

Nixa City Council authorized Mayor Brian Steele to sign an agreement with London-based fiber provider SiFi Networks to develop a fiber system throughout the city.

The deal, valued at around $27 million, allows SiFi to build and manage a gigabit-capable infrastructure in the city. Speeds hitting 1 gigabit per second are roughly 100 times faster than the average broadband service.

Council gave its authorization during its Jan. 20 meeting, and Nixa spokeswoman Jill Finney announced the news today.

“A fiber network would benefit the city in a number of ways,” Steele said in the release. “It will help us attract and sustain new businesses to the city as well as advance technology.”

The city had been grappling at whether to choose SiFi or build the network alone, the latter of which would have cost roughly $28 million, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

A feasibility study conducted in July determined residents want the gigabit infrastructure, the release said.

Under the deal, SiFi will front the funding to construct the network and allow Internet service providers to lease space on the fiber system from the city. The city would use the lease revenue to refund SiFi over the next 30 years - at which point the city would own the network, according to the release.

“Not only would this provide a revenue model for the city, but it would give residents and business owners provider options keeping the costs down,” Nixa City Administrator Brian Bingle said in the release.

Nixa’s city attorney is working with a SiFi attorney to formulate an acceptable fiber optic network lease agreement, as well as development and easement agreements. The contracts would then need to go to council for approval.