A number of potential subscribers received an email from Josue Salmeron, the Yellow Springs village manager, covering the pilot’s current status and apologizing for any delays. Here’s the text of it.

After a prolonged delay, we are pleased to bring you this update on the status of the Fiber To the Premises (FTTP) project.  First, please accept our sincere apology for the protracted timeline.  Things have not proceeded according to estimates we made and provided to the community earlier this year, and we have not communicated updates regularly.  This does not constitute the superior customer service which we promised, and to which we are committed.   

To get back on the right track, we hope you will appreciate the following news:

• To date, we have received 220 applications for the Pilot Program.  Of these, 100 are addresses that are not in the project area, as shown on the official map, and therefore are not eligible. The remaining 120 applications are eligible and are included in the Pilot Program.
• If this email is addressed to you (not forwarded or otherwise received), then congratulations, you are one of the 120 eligible applicants who will be participating!  A map of participating addresses is available here.
•  Many of you (approximately 80) have already had cable attached to the outside of your home or business location.  Others have been contacted about attachment dates, and everyone else should expect to have this occur in the very near future.  As a matter of quality control, Springs-Net volunteers plan to make a visual inspection of all 120 locations next week so we know the precise status of connectivity readiness.
• The process for completing the connection of your home or business to Springs-Net has changed somewhat.  Initially, we conducted site visits to each address to produce instructions for attaching and connecting the fiber optic cable.  Our experience has led us to streamline this process slightly by passing that responsibility to the fiber contractor. You should therefore expect to have a conversation with the contractor before they pull fiber optic cable to your building and attach the connection enclosure.  The contractor should call and arrange a time to do all this in advance.
• Final installation into your residence or business has been contracted to Dan Badger from Yellow Springs Hardware, who will also arrange a time with you in advance.  We are very happy to have Dan performing this critical task, with his broad skill set and friendly demeanor.

As of today, twenty homes or businesses are fully functional.  Anecdotal reports about network performance have been universally positive so far.  Several subscribers are conducting periodic speed tests to establish a more objective baseline performance level, but the inescapable reality is that Fiber To The Premises (FTTP) networks are vastly superior to older copper or coaxial cable systems.  Actual performance in your location will depend on many factors which make it very difficult to predict precise speeds, and care must be taken when comparing speed tests between networks, however we hope you won’t mind if we show off just a little.  The following table includes screen shots of speed tests from two home networks in town.  The left hand panel shows results from a home with Springs-Net Premium speed tier, while the right hand panel represents a Spectrum connection on a similar network.  Monthly prices are listed for each.  We believe this is a compelling value proposition for Yellow Springs residents, but we hope you will make that judgment for yourself.

• A couple of questions have arisen which we want to address here:
• 1.     When and how will I be billed?  – For subscribers who are already connected and working, January will be your first billed month of service.   Subscribers who come online after the first of the year will see their charge appear for the month after the date they become operational.  The charge will appear on the January Village Utility bill, and the rate will be $45 for the Standard Tier and $65 for the Premium Tier.  There is an additional $5 / month fee for customers of either tier who use the ONT with built in WiFi.
• 2.     How is it determined whether my connection is aerial or underground?  What if I want an underground connection?  –  Our initial thinking was that each connection would follow the type used for electrical service, i.e. homes with aerial electrical service would have aerial fiber connections and those with underground electrical service would have underground fiber.  The reality is less straightforward however, and it has become necessary to make each determination on the basis of the specific details for that location.  Furthermore, some subscribers prefer underground even if their existing electric is aerial.  The short answer is that we will work with each customer to try and meet their needs, but it is impossible to guarantee a given method, owing to the fact that we have a very limited budget for installation, and there are many unusual situations where it may not be financially possible.  In these cases, we may have to ask the customer to help share in the extra cost or to work with us to find another creative solution to the specific problem. 
• 3.     I have an Auxiliary Dwelling Unit on my property, or an attached rental of some kind.  Does this require two subscriptions?  – Not necessarily.  Again, this can depend on a number of factors, but in principle it is perfectly feasible to set up a separate network to share internet service among two buildings.  This may require some additional equipment, but we will be happy to discuss your needs, options for achieving them, and to put you in touch with someone who can set things up to work for you.
• Several other questions have come up multiple times, and these are addressed in the attached list of Frequently Asked Questions on the Springs-Net website, www.yellow-springs.net for your reference.  Beyond this resource, we also want to make you aware of two additional sources of support.  Specific questions can be directed to either support@yso.com (email) or by phone to 937-767-3711.

Subscribers who have phoned or emailed questions to the Village will receive follow up responses within the next few days, and we pledge to communicate more fully and far more frequently with everyone from this point forward.

Thank you for your patience!  

Josué Salmerón