Why Bergen Fiber is a Game-Changer: Alpine Joins the County-Owned High-Speed Network
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
ALPINE, NJ — Bergen Fiber is officially LIVE in Alpine! By joining this innovative shared service, the Borough of Alpine gains access to a secure, reliable, high-speed network engineered to meet the growing technological demands of modern local government.
County leaders are celebrating the expansion of the network, partnering with local municipalities to deliver enterprise-grade connectivity while significantly lowering costs for taxpayers. Special thanks go to Mayor Tomasko, Alpine Police Chief Kent, and the Alpine Borough Council for welcoming the Bergen Fiber Highway into their community.
Breaking Free from Commercial Providers
Publicly announced by Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco in February 2024, the initiative is the culmination of a two-year strategic collaboration between the Bergen County IT Department and the Millenium Communications Group.
By building, owning, and operating its own fiber-optic infrastructure, Bergen County has achieved two major breakthroughs for local government operations:
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Eliminating Commercial Carrier Dependence: By owning the lines, the county and participating towns are no longer subject to unpredictable price hikes and fluctuating rates from corporate telecom giants.
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Ending Speed “Throttling”: The county-owned dedicated fiber line prevents peak-hour bandwidth throttling, ensuring uninterrupted high-speed connectivity when public safety and local services need it most.
Slashing Costs by Up to 50%
The financial benefits of the shared service model are already proving substantial. Several participating municipalities estimate they are cutting their broadband costs by as much as 50% compared to traditional commercial carrier contracts.
Highlighting the core mission of fairness across the region, County Executive Tedesco emphasized:
“With Bergen Fiber, we are ensuring that every town — big or small — has the ability to access secure, affordable, and reliable internet at a fraction of the cost of commercial carriers.”
As the network continues to expand across Bergen County, more local governments are poised to upgrade their infrastructure while saving taxpayer dollars.
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Technology and infrastructure are often the behind-the-scenes costs of local government. They are necessary, expensive, and not always fully recognized when communities look at their budgets.
Shared services give municipalities an opportunity to reduce duplication, share expertise, control costs, and improve technology and infrastructure without sacrificing the quality of service or the local touch.