CEO of MTE Communications addresses legislation on municipal-owned services

Weiser is well-served by the existing telecommunications and internet providers, and the investment in upgrading infrastructure is ongoing, the president and CEO of MTE Communications told city officials.
 John Stuart recently addressed the city council about the company’s long history in Weiser and Midvale and recent and future  projects related to local telecommunication services.
 Stuart said he wanted to update the council on what MTE Communications is doing and the services provided locally against a backdrop of House Bill 490 in the Idaho Legislature.
 The proposed legislation allows municipalities to develop and maintain communications network and services within the city limits.
 The city of Ammon in eastern Idaho built a fiber optics plant to allow providers to serve that community. The city stepped in and took the action due to a lack of investment in fiber optic by existing companies, and there are other small cities that are not seeing much investment or expansion of services.
 But just like owning and operating wastewater or water treatment plant, the city of Ammon is now committed to spending the money annually to maintain the fiber plant, and it can be expensive, Stuart said.
 Stuart said there is a lot of talk at the statehouse about cities getting into the fiber optic business. It’s not known yet if HB 490 will reach the floor of the House and Senate this session, but it might in the future.
 Unlike some other small cities, Weiser and Washington County are not lacking in internet providers. There are two other facility based providers in town and four of five wireless providers serving the larger community and rural areas, Stuart said.
 In 2018-19, MTE laid 24 miles of fiber optic cable between Weiser and Midvale, with about four miles of that within the Weiser city limits. The cost of the project was about $1.2 million and about $320 of that was spent in Weiser.
 He said the entire city of Midvale is already equipped with fiber to the home and will expand that capability to much of the valley this summer. This year, all of the downtown businesses in Weiser will be transitioned to fiber optic service. The company is expanding wireless internet availability around Weiser with the current plan to reach 50 MB service. The company has budgeted about $250,000 for the upgrades in 2020.
 The company is also exploring small cell wireless and public wi-fi in the downtown area and city parks. Small cell is a wireless service that can be used in a business or along a street. The idea is to maybe offer the first 15 minutes of service for free and then charge.
 MTE Communications is also a part owner of Syringa Networks, a company that has grown tremendously and is now bigger than all of the companies that own it put together. The company’s west loop serves most of southwest Idaho and has no limitation on bandwith.
 The employee-owned MTE is expanding in Idaho and Arizona. The company has eight employees in Weiser, 20 who report to Midvale and 17 employees in Arizona. The annual payroll is $2.3 million. MTE Communications has $46 million in assets, Stuart said.