City officials are laying the groundwork for a new fiber-optic project that could bring free Wi-Fi to downtown Santa Maria and attract new economic growth to the area.

On Thursday, city leaders announced that it had entered into a new public/private partnership with Wave Broadband, a gigabit broadband and fiber services firm, to create a fiber-optic network ring that will bring high-speed gigabit internet service and connectivity to city departments, businesses, schools and residents.

City officials could not provide an overall price tag for the project, as they said the project encompasses years of previous investment and in-kind trade for services.

The fiber-optic network will ring the heart of the city along Main Street, Miller Street, Betteravia Road and Blosser Road. Fiber spurs also connect to the city's bus yard on Fairway Drive and to the landfill along East Main Street.

Wave officials said work on the fiber ring has already begun and it is expected to be completed later this year.

The project was formed to spark economic growth in and around the city by attracting businesses and other entities though the incentive of high-speed internet.

“Partnering with Wave provides tremendous benefits to the city and its customers,” City Manager Jason Stilwell said. “The community will gain access to unprecedented levels of bandwidth capacity that will impact the way they work and learn.”

The fiber ring network is the culmination of longtime infrastructure investments by the city.