The Ashland Fiber Network (AFN) was created in the late 1990s when a small group of local innovators decided to take control of the city’s destiny by building a telecommunications network. The Ashland Fiber Network is a community-owned infrastructure designed to provide a platform for showcasing local compassionate people, supporting local innovators and sharing our community’s unique independent way of living and thinking with the world.
AFN’s unique open access model means that the city owns, manages and maintains the telecommunications infrastructure, then leases it to preferred locally owned Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) so customers can choose between going with AFN directly or the partner ISP that best fits their needs. Unlike most Multiple System Operators (Charter, Century Link, etc.) 100 percent of the revenue generated from subscriptions stays in the community.