Ting Says Public-Private Partnerships Key to Closing Connectivity Gaps

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2022 – Tucows’s Ting Internet said its public-private partnerships with local communities has helped close its connectivity gaps and elevate its economic potential.

At a Broadband Bunch event late last month, in which the company outlined successes in public-private partnerships, Monica Webb, Ting’s head of market development and strategic partnerships, said the company works with cities’ specific needs to ensure complete community access.

When approaching public-private fiber projects, Webb said that Ting considers a community’s existing infrastructure to better target deployment. “It’s not a one-size fits all,” Webb said. Depending on a city’s needs and its existing fiber assets, Ting has been able to deliver service that enhances a city’s internet capabilities.

In addition to building a network “organically,” Webb said Ting has also provided service over a city’s wholly owned fiber network. “In many cases, a city will have a fiber backbone or ring with excess fiber where we will lease that to make our deployment faster because we don’t have to replicate what’s already built,” Webb said.

She added that this method provides revenue to the partner city, which can receive cost recovery on its investment in the fiber ring. Ting deployed this method in Holly Springs, North Carolina, where the city already had fiber assets and needed to connect city facilities like public safety and city hall.

In an end-of-year event hosted by Broadband Breakfast, leading telecom media heads argued that the industry can expect more public-private partnerships this year.

Ting said it stays engaged with the local community by prioritizing hiring local teams to install fiber networks and participating in non-profit initiatives in the communities the company serves. For example, Webb said Ting leads sponsorship and digital inclusion programs in its service area.

“We approach the business as offering immense economic development for communities,” Webb said. “We want everyone in those communities to have access, that’s why we build networks that reach every home and business.”