REMARKS OF GIGI B. SOHN,
COUNSELOR TO FCC CHAIRMAN WHEELER
REMARKS AT WESTMINSTER’S FIBER LAUNCH PARTY
WESTMINSTER, MD
JUNE 26, 2015
Good afternoon!  Thank you to Council President Wack for inviting me to speak today. It’s great 
to be here in Westminster, and I’m not just saying that because you’re close to the 
Pennsylvania border and I can easily score some illegal fireworks for the 4
th
of July while I’m up 
here. It’s truly a pleasure for me to be here in Westminster on this auspicious occasion – the 
lighting of the city’s fiber network.  My boss Chairman Tom Wheeler sends his hearty 
congratulations.  
What is happening today is a great example of local communities and their leaders taking
control of their broadband future.  Dr. Wack and other local leaders recognized the increasingly 
undeniable fact that true high-speed broadband has become a necessity in our 21
st
century 
economy and democracy. You concluded that existing broadband offerings were not meeting 
Westminster’s needs, and that the only solution was to become directly involved in plans for 
broadband deployment.  
And what wonderful plans they are.  The city has chosen to engage in a private-public 
partnership with Ting, which will be providing Westminster with what they call “crazy fast fiber 
Internet.”   It’s hard to believe that what you have built is the first community constructed fiber 
network in the Mid-Atlantic region.  What has been developed and built here in Westminster 
can become a model for other cities in Maryland and across the nation. That is incredibly 
exciting. 
There are so many things that have impressed me about what you have done here, and I 
wanted to take a few minutes to recognize just a few of them. 
First, I admire how strategic your Westminster and Carroll County leaders were in taking the 
time and engaging in the due diligence necessary to ensure that your vision actually became a 
reality.   And I appreciate that every step of the way, the process has been open, transparent 
and inclusive. 
I know that this fiber network didn’t just pop up overnight. From what I understand, this all 
started with Dr. Wack’s efforts to get Carroll County to expand its middle mile network over ten 
years ago!  
The success of this expansion laid the foundation for Westminster’s own exploration into 
deploying a citywide network, starting with two pilot projects two summers ago – one 
residential pilot at the Carroll Lutheran Village and one business pilot at the Westminster 
Technology Park.
2Second, I applaud the innovative public private partnership you have built with Ting.  This 
partnership promotes a type of teamwork not often found in the marketplace. Instead of being 
adversaries, you are partners, committed to delivering the best broadband to the citizens of
Westminster. Even better, the partnership reduces the financial risk to the city and citizens of 
Westminster because the burdens and benefits of the network are shared by the partners.   As 
a result, everyone has the incentive to work as hard as possible to ensure that the network 
succeeds. 
Last, but not least, the open access model that Westminster has with Ting is an approach that I 
believe will reap benefits to the citizens of Westminster for years to come.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the open access model will provide Ting with temporary 
exclusivity in delivering services to Westminster for either two years or when a minimum 
number of subscribers are activated, whichever occurs first. 
At that point, the City will have the ability to open up the network to allow other broadband 
access providers to enter the market. The resulting competition will mean lower prices and 
better services for consumers. 
There will be other benefits stemming from your community’s investment in a fiber network. 
I’d like to highlight a few: 
First, as I said before, Westminster will be getting “crazy fast fiber internet.”
As I understand it, about 10,000 homes and businesses in the community will be able to receive 
up to a 1 Gbps internet connection. 
To give you some perspective on just how fast this really is, according to Akamai the average US 
broadband connection is 12 Mbps download.  That’s fine if you live alone, and all you’re doing 
online is minimal browsing each night while streaming a movie on Netflix.    
Gigabit speed means faster video streaming, faster photo uploading, faster everything for
multiple devices in homes and businesses. More importantly, it means, among other things, a 
greater ability for workers to telecommute; for students young and old to take college courses 
online; for kids to do their homework; for doctors to check on patients; and for citizens to 
interact with their state, local and federal governments.
Second, Westminster will become a global leader in Gigabit broadband.
Westminster is at the cutting edge not just of community broadband, but of broadband 
Internet access worldwide.
3Westminster will join an elite group of US cities, including Chattanooga, Kansas City and Austin, 
and cities around the world like Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo that will be delivering up to 1 
Gbps Internet connections to its residents and businesses. 
Third, Westminster’s gigabit network will promote economic growth and the well-being of its 
citizens.
We have seen time and again that community broadband networks bring with them many 
benefits that go far beyond mere speed.  For example, Chattanooga Tennessee used to be 
famous as “America’s Dirtiest City.”  Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board or “EPB” became the 
first in the nation to offer gigabit service to all of its customers. Since then Chattanooga has 
seen companies like Amazon and Volkswagen invest in new facilities, and the city has started its 
own incubator. It is now known as the “Gigabit City” and it is attracting entrepreneurs and 
young workers. 
This kind of investment started in Westminster even before the first customer was served.  Last 
year, Carlisle Etcetera, a women’s fashion clothing company, relocated from New York City to 
Westminster. Carlisle moved its distribution center down and is moving some portion of their 
IT operations here to take advantage of Westminster’s fiber network.   And I understand that 
the city is considering building an incubator.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same influx of 
people and resources once your network gets up and running.  As the mysterious voice said to 
Kevin Costner in the movie “Field of Dreams”, “If you build it, they will come.”
Friends, with your investment in fiber infrastructure, the possibilities and prospects for this 
community moving forward are endless.  You have not only made an investment in a network, 
but an investment in Westminster’s future. 
Please be assured that the FCC is an ally to Westminster and all communities looking to offer 
their citizens more competitive choices for true high-speed Internet. We are committed to 
cutting through bureaucratic red tape to accelerate and lower the costs of broadband 
deployment. For example, our recent Open Internet Order eased access to utility poles and 
other conduits necessary to broadband deployment. We also approved petitions from the 
leaders of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina to pre-empt the restrictive state 
laws hampering investment and deployment in their areas.
We believe local elected officials should have the right to make their own decisions about their 
broadband future. Today, the leaders of Westminster remind us why that freedom is so 
important. I want to congratulate you again for being a leader in community broadband and a 
model for other communities to emulate. Chairman Wheeler and I applaud your ambition and 
look forward to working with you to deliver the benefits of broadband to your community.
Thank you.