So if you’ve been living in Eugene, Oregon you’ve probably heard about the downtown fiber initiative. Basically buildings downtown can get access to superfast internet.

It might feel like the fiber network will only be good for a few people, but that’s not the case.

High-speed fiber internet isn’t just good for business, tech folks, or city officials. Access to cheaper and faster broadband is good for everyone. That mean normal folks like you and me.

5 Benefits From Downtown Fiber For Use Normal Folks

For more details on the project see how Eugene is building for the future with downtown fiber. For now let’s talk about some of the benefits for normal people.

1 – Promotes high paying job growth

Skilled talent will go where the best opportunities are. When companies consider Eugene the quality of internet providers has a big impact.

Because of the fiber network more companies will choose Eugene, Oregon. This creates more job opportunities, which brings in more talent. That new talent will attract even more companies, that promotes even more job growth.

You get the picture. It takes a lot effort to get the flywheel spinning but less energy to keep it going.

“Once it became clear that we would be able to have access to fiber, I immediately wanted to move downtown. We need Internet access that can scale with our growing business.” — Robert Steck, CEO Partnered Solutions IT via EUGNet

A rising tide lifts all boats. In 2016, TAO estimated a 30 percent growth in the tech sector over the next two years. This in turn will create thousands of jobs.

For the time being, the tech sectors known for high wage jobs. Even if we don’t live downtown there’s a possibility that we could end up getting high paying tech job in the area. The new fiber network only increases those odds.

This means more cash stays in town to be spent on handcrafted beer coozies at the Eugene Saturday Market. Don’t worry I won’t judge. Open competition breeds innovation and stability.

2 – Great internet at a steep discount

This is mostly for those normal folks lucky enough to live in a building downtown. Either way it’s still worth mentioning.

Having cheaper internet service is helpful. Whether you’re streaming movies, looking up information, or posting on social media.

Firms in the Broadway Commerce Center saw the price of monthly service decline from about $250 to $99. Based on a high speed fiber article by the City of Eugene. That also comes with an increase of service from for 150-megabit to 1,000-megabit.

That’s almost a 60 percent discount for a seven times the service speed.

3 – Provides an outlet for our common voice

People older than 25 use the internet for a lot of things, based on a White House Broadband Report. That’s pretty obvious but what’s surprising is the breakdown of that usage.

At 77 percent personal communications was the common internet use case. Job searches, job training, or working from home was done over the internet by 30 percent. Healthcare and education usages was not far behind at 27 percent, and 23 percent.

Even if that means heading to downtown Eugene to access the networks faster speeds. The fiber network will allow more people to have access to faster internet. Which means more opportunities for normal folks like you and me to share our voice.

4 – Saving for business could mean savings for everyone

Alright this doesn’t always happen but in the best case scenarios it does. Savings are not only driven by the lower cost but can also be seen through productivity gains.

So far other companies have already started to see savings. You can find a few examples in EUGNet’s testimonial section. Like Ryan Postma, Owner of Attic Media Inc. He says,  “Having a high-speed connection is pretty essential to not only saving us some money but also being productive.”

Passing savings down helps companies focus on long-term wins not just next quarter wins. Which increase the quality of work received by all of use.

5 – Promote competition among internet service providers

Having fiber downtown makes other internet service providers step up their game.

I’ve heard that when other cities gained a fiber network the average broadband bill dropped over $25 a month. That’s over $25 across these cities not only in areas with fiber. That extra money adds up to a lot of coozies.

High speed connectivity also help speed up the adoption of single gigabit connections. This pushes the rest of the industry forward. Meaning that the likelihood of more folks gaining fiber is much higher.

Good for all of Eugene

The fiber network is good for normal folks not just business, property owners, and city officials. By promoting competition, and growing the local tech sector we all benefit.

How do you think the downtown fiber network will help Eugene, Oregon?

Let me know in the comments below.