When Cleveland City Council approved a 30-year deal with a company promising to install a network of fiber-optic internet cables beneath the city’s roads and tree lawns for free, some council members said in private the promise sounded too good to be true.
It appears they were right.
In the roughly 20 months since the deal was struck, SiFi Networks has failed to identify final installation sites, apply for permits or start any construction, according to proposed legislation being introduced today at Cleveland City Council.
The original deal was intended to spark development that could lead to better access to internet services for city residents. At the time, SiFi Networks President Scott Bradshaw told council that the for-profit company would spend $500 million on the project and recoup its money by charging internet service providers and others to access the network.
Last week, Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin and Chief of Innovation and Technology Elizabeth Crowe sent a letter to Bradshaw informing him the company failed to meet the requirements of the contract, which had given the company exclusive rights to build such a network. The city asked Bradshaw to sign the letter formally ending the deal or the city would consider the failure to respond as an admission that the company did not deliver on the contract.
“The City seeks closure on this matter as it is committed to a modern internet infrastructure for residents and businesses,” the May 6 letter reads. “The City will partner with the internet service providers who currently operate in the City as we look to identify alternative solutions that expand our shared connectivity and infrastructure goals.”
Signal Cleveland reached out to SiFi Networks for an explanation for why it failed to begin work but the company has not yet responded.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s office has not yet responded to questions about the deal and whether Bradshaw signed the letter.
Council Member Brian Kazy, who was skeptical of the deal in 2023, said the company had a track record of inaction in other cities.
“I said 20 months ago this wouldn’t work as Cleveland City Council did their homework on this company and other cities pulled out because they never did anything,” Kazy said in a statement to Signal Cleveland. “After we passed the legislation, SiFi wanted money and the City said no so they just disappeared. This was a pipe dream of the Administration and we are pulling the legislation so they don’t just show up one day and start boring and trenching our city. SiFi is well aware that we are cutting ties and moving in another direction to do what is best for our residents.”
At the time Cleveland signed SiFi Networks deal, council also signed off on a $20 million deal with the local nonprofit DigitalC to offer low-cost broadband citywide, requiring it to sign up people for $18-per-month internet services. SiFi Networks’ contract was viewed as a way to complement that and expand the city’s options for fast, market-rate fiber internet.
