After a year of scouting and haggling, MetroNet announced plans to debut in Tallahassee — soon to be the first and only Florida city served by the fiber network company.

MetroNet plans to make a $75 million investment for a new high-speed fiber optic internet, TV and phone network. The move means Tallahassee will be crowned a "gigabit city," wired with the fastest internet speeds available.

The deal would not have happened if the city didn't agree to offer its utility poles as shareable space. A cross section of business and government leaders gathered Thursday afternoon at the Tallahassee Community College Center for Innovation to roll out the red carpet.

“We are proud of who we have been, where we are and where we’re going,” said Mayor John Dailey. “But we also know we can’t do it by ourselves. It takes incredible community partners to help move us forward. It’s been an entire community effort to lure you to Tallahassee … You will fall in love with Tallahassee.”

On Wednesday, city commissioners unanimously approved changing policy to allow access to its utility poles. The decision opened access to 9,000 utility poles, 20 percent of the city's inventory, for all utility providers, not just MetroNet.

The back story:

MetroNet netted a substantial benefit by piggybacking on the poles. The company won't have to install or replace new utility poles, saving it approximately $27 million, city officials said.

During the city meeting, Commissioner Jeremy Matlow strongly encouraged inclusive service and wanted to avoid the creation of a digital divide among neighborhoods, adding the city has an "economic segregation" issue.

“All I’m looking for is a commitment that we don’t wait and see on the south side but that we go ahead and do a full build of those neighborhoods only because we welcome you to Tallahassee,” Matlow said. “We want you here, but we also want to make sure all of our neighborhoods are taken care of here.”

MetroNet representatives said the company is committed to going where its service is wanted. Residents and businesses can go to metronetinc.com/tallahassee and indicate their interest.

City Manager Reese Goad said staffers worked closely with MetroNet on logistics and what would be needed to “clear hurdles” in order to make Tallahassee work as a service area, including the Growth Management process and the city’s utility systems.

“That was a big deal,” Goad said. “We can use infrastructure that already exists to make this project faster and more efficient and more effective for our community.

He also said MetroNet indicated a strong desire to "service all of our community," and committed to provide residential service to Frenchtown, Bond and South City.

Kevin Stelmach, executive vice president and general manager for MetroNet, said the company will be “very competitive” with local providers but didn't get into specific pricing.

“What we have consistently done is provided more for the same or slightly less,” he said.

Residents will begin seeing mailers announcing MetroNet's service, and construction is slated to begin early next year. Fiber optic service will be available to the first wave of customers, roughly 500 to 1,000, by late spring or early summer 2020.

“This project will probably take us about three years from start to finish,” Stelmach said, adding Tallahassee is the company’s first market in Florida. “What feels right about Tallahassee is the welcome from the community. That was an important part of the process. We asked, ‘Does the community want a new service provider or another option in their town?’”

MetroNet’s expansion was nicknamed “Project Ranger” as local government, economic and business officials worked to keep recruitment efforts confidential. The project will spur up to 400 jobs, including 40 permanent positions and a retail location to be determined.

Cristina Paredes, who heads the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, said the company’s decision to expand in Tallahassee was market driven and didn’t hinge on traditional incentives or tax breaks.

“We worked with them on providing data on our community, neighborhood descriptions and a look down the road of our future infrastructure investments are going to be, especially through Blueprint,” Paredes said.

Tallahassee’s gigabit city status could become a major recruitment tool and a potential turning point in landing more companies.

“Connectivity is where it all starts," Paredes said. "We have small businesses, growing entrepreneurs, second stage companies and expanding companies (with) choices in their broadband and the ability to connect in and have a wired city."

Stelmach spoke of Tallahassee’s growth and the company’s success in similar size college towns, such as Lafayette, Indiana, and Lexington, Kentucky. The company has no plans to expand to any other Florida city, Stelmach said.

“We offer the fastest speed up or down. Others offer speeds that may be a gig but you’re not getting the same speed up,” Stelmach said.

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.