Jamestown plans to construct a citywide municipal fiber network using American Rescue Plan funds, the first city in the state of New York to do so. The city is currently working with EntryPoint Networks on a feasibility study to estimate the overall cost of the project, as well as surveying residential interest in building a municipally owned open-access broadband network in Jamestown.

Under the open-access network model Jamestown is pursuing, the city would own and maintain all network infrastructure, which the city would then lease to third-party internet service providers (ISPs) to compete in offering Internet services to residents. Since the city would own the infrastructure, it would be able to establish basic network policies to address community-specific needs, such as prohibiting bandwidth caps or providing a service option affordable for low-income residents.

To ensure that low-income households are able to access the network, Sundquist said the city would require ISPs offering service over the network to provide a low-speed, low-cost Lifeline service option.