Questions about Fibrant and Hotwire

The writer is responding to recent stories by reporter Jessica Coates about the possible lease of Fibrant to Hotwire:

Mainly, my first question is related to the Fibrant name and email addresses. Are customers going to be able to retain their email addresses @fibrant.com or will the new system take on the new name that Hotwire goes with?

Additionally, are there any safeguards in place to ensure that the prices and offerings by Hotwire are competitive or better than other providers in the area? I became a Fibrant customer in 2009, and while I’ve never had any major service issues — I do know that Fibrant does not offer nearly as much as other providers do in the area, however I have decided to support my local municipal project. That loyalty likely won’t remain with the new provider.

Are there any indications on how much the monthly service plans would be with this new service? Ultimately, for the voters and citizens, the decision comes down to a financial question – and if I could get the same services from another vendor, for a lower cost, I would likely change.

Thanks for following this so closely.

— Grayson Gusa

Salisbury

Editor’s note: We sent your questions to Jonathan Bullock, vice president of corporate development and government for Hotwire. Here is his response:

Thank you for writing in and asking questions to help inform your decision regarding the referendum on May 8th.

Hotwire is looking forward to earning your loyalty through great service, offerings, value and community involvement. In addition to these efforts, this deal is uniquely beneficial to the community because its structure keeps money in Salisbury and allows the city to own its valuable, fiber network in perpetuity.

If the referendum is successful, Hotwire will begin upgrading the system and, once the upgrades are complete, will launch its Fision products and pricing.

Hotwire is required by the agreement to keep the type, quality and price of its services “competitive with the services offered by [other] providers”. After this transition, Hotwire will be providing a better product at a better value to its customers in Salisbury — this is the only way to grow our subscriber base in the city. Service prices will be the same or lower than they are now.

Hotwire will support the Fibrant email addresses through the end of the year and will assist customers in setting up and transferring their emails to a new service.

Please feel free to reach out to me at jbullock@hotwirecommunications.com with any additional questions, comments or concerns.