Loveland, Colo. fiber to home network Pulse--owned by the city’s water and power utility--began marketing in early 2022. The municipal-owned network projected first year revenues of $10 million and seems to have hit that milestone. The network expects to hit breakeven in its third year, which would be fast, compared to most other FTTH payback models.
As always, there are caveats. Pulse early marketing has been aimed at business customers, with expected monthly charges ranging from $110 to $450 per month, substantially above the range of $50 to $70 a month typically charged for consumer accounts.
Pulse also sells voice services to business customers, representing perhaps $50 a month in revenue per line. For consumers, Pulse sells video entertainment for prices ranging from about $38 a month up to $108 a month.
Compared to most independent internet service providers, Pulse therefore has the ability to earn revenue from multiple services, not simply internet access. That has potential to boost per-account revenue, but also adds additional cost elements.
Still, the Pulse revenue model has more drivers than home broadband. And ownership by the local power and water utility could, in principle, also mean lower costs.
The business plan is based on a 42 percent terminal take rate and a 32 percent business take rate. In practice, higher than expected build rates, lower than expected interest income and higher than expected infrastructure and equipment costs have caused some deviations from plan.
The network should be fully built by the end of 2023, Pulse says.
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