City of Lancaster Selects Shentel as Municipal Broadband Partner

The City has announced the selection of Shentel as a municipal broadband partner that will build on existing City-owned fiber to ensure 100% coverage for residential broadband services, including a net no cost option for qualifying households. 

Over the past year, the City retained the counsel of CTC Technology & Energy Engineering & Business Consulting, a vendor neutral broadband consulting company, to evaluate the city’s existing broadband assets, opportunities, and market conditions to support the city in achieving its goals of universal, equitable, residential best-in-class broadband services; maximizing the value of the City’s existing investment in broadband; and leveraging fiber investments for City government use.  

With the advancement of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 and the investment of billions of dollars into national broadband infrastructure, the market for broadband has shifted globally, altering the landscape of municipal broadband. 

In 2022, the City issued an RFP for a partner to achieve stated goals, which received five responses, and led to the selection of Shentel. The Contract will result in Shentel installing fiber at its sole cost to provide service to 100% of the City’s residents. Shentel plans to commence design and construction immediately upon execution of the final agreement.  

Shentel will lease, maintain and operate existing City-owned fiber, install additional fiber, and ensure the funding, design, installation, operation and maintenance necessary to deliver universal, equitable broadband services.  As well, the City will leverage fiber investments for government use. 

Based in Virginia, Shentel is a 121-year-old company focused on delivering broadband, streaming TV, phone and wireless service to rural markets. With 860 employees and $241 million in annual revenues, Shentel is offering fiber to the home as Glo Fiber. They are already working in Lancaster County, bringing broadband to Lancaster Township, Mountville Borough, East Hempfield Township, West Lampeter Township and Manheim Township. Their footprint includes over 8,000 miles of fiber in central PA, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia and Kentucky.