The Duluth City Council is considering an agreement to contract with Comcast for internet services. The city’s contract with current provider Birch Communications will end early next year, said IT Manager Jeff Pruett.
Currently, the main city buildings use a combination of Charter Cable and Birch Communications (formerly CBeyond) for Internet connections. The internet is used by employee work as well as for moving data between buildings. Backup for all data is stored at an offsite location. The city has experienced ongoing connection issues due in large part to a lack of bandwidth needed for the growing amount of data transferred from building to building.
The city’s IT staff has reviewed quotes from Granite Telecommunications, Cogent Communications and Comcast. Based on best fiber connections, ability to increase upload speeds, and price, Duluth’s IT staff is recommending Comcast.
The Duluth City Council will vote on the proposed contract at the next city council meeting Nov. 14.
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