Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
A spirit that is not afraid

Perimeter neighborhoods may see new internet service

Auburn residents in northern and southern neighborhoods may finally break away from the internet Stone Age with progress toward implementing new internet infrastructure under way.

Auburn City Council members met with cable companies Charter Communications, WOW! Business and AT&T to discuss adding better service to underserved neighborhoods.

Council members Ron Anders and Beth Witten, Assistant City Manager Jim Buston and Mayor Bill Ham Jr. hope that neighborhoods such as Tuscany Hills, Tivoli Subdivision, Plainsman Hills, Shadow Wood Estates, Autumn Ridge and The Preserve will receive better infrastructure in the near future.

Witten said many neighborhoods in the northern perimeter have seen an increase in density but infrastructure updates have been seldom.

“We had several neighborhoods in the outskirts of town that for whatever reason … the internet or cable companies did not service,” she said. “[The City Council] asked the top three cable companies, AT&T, WOW! and Charter … to have a meeting about the north side and other areas...”

The three cable companies now have the neighborhoods “on the radar,” Witten said.

There are plans to implement cable and internet. According to Witten, WOW! indicated that there will be an investment put into the city to service the target areas without cable or internet.



But it won’t be an overnight fix.

“[The service providers] have to seek approval from within their own organizations, do research of how many homes need service, what they must do to put in the service or if they can service,” Witten said. “We hope to keep lines of communication between the city and the service providers open.”

Witten said the goal of maintaining open communication between the city and companies is to keep the process going, notifying about the growth of certain communities and the necessity of plans to accommodate.

“We have people who work from home.” Witten said. “We require students from public and private school to utilize internet.”

Currently Auburn citizens in the low service areas resort to more expensive data packages in order to receive internet access.

Witten said there will be significant strides made toward to completing the infrastructure soon.

“We are just one piece of the puzzle,"  Witten said. "We are here for citizens to express their concerns and needs … at the end of the day the service providers will have to make a business and economic decision [about where to go from here]."

To Witten, the main take away from the Council meeting with the three companies was that the service providers were unaware of the growing density of certain parts of Auburn. By having the meeting, Auburn City Council reopened the dialogue of the process of providing more service.

Citizens should expect more affordable options once the infrastructure is placed. Witten said that Charter is working toward a more affordable, low-income option for citizens. The option will be available for citizens that meet certain criteria for this service.

“[Charter] recognizes the becoming necessity of having internet access,"  Witten said. "[Auburn] has to have it."

The Auburn City Council’s first goal, Witten said, is to get access to residents and to let the service providers come to a conclusion whether there will be multiple package options for customers to choose from.

For more information about the upcoming change, Witten suggests researching Charter, WOW! and AT&T, and visiting the Auburn city website. Otherwise, contact your ward's Council member.

“Each side of town has unique characteristics," Witten said. "Going to your council person is a great place to start."


Share and discuss “Perimeter neighborhoods may see new internet service” on social media.