Seattle’s excess fiber optic cabling is officially for sale.

Mayor Mike McGinn released a request for information today to private companies who want to use the city’s 500 miles of unused cabling throughout the city.

“We are moving ahead on expanding our next-generation infrastructure, helping Seattle compete in the global economy,” McGinn said in a press release. “I look forward to seeing the applications from private providers seeking to improve our city’s internet service for our residents and businesses.”

A letter of interest and desired fiber route information must be sent to the city by 5 p.m. on Nov. 30, with responses returned by Dec. 10.

Most agreements will be five years, but the city will also consider terms up to ten years. There will be a priority list used when reviewing responses.

The City Council approved the plan in July with an 8-0 vote.

The City has already worked with The University of Washington, King County, Seattle Public Schools, Washington State Ferries and other government entities over the past 14 years to maintain and install fiber optic cable throughout the city.

But residents and businesses have been complaining about slow Internet and thus, the city responded with this new plan. Opening up the fiber network to private companies should increase internet speeds and allow for competition between providers.

Mayor McGinn has already pushed hard to bring fiber optic cable to Pioneer Square, a high-tech hub that historically had been bypassed by the big telecommunications companies. Comcast won a high-speed Internet contract for the neighborhood last summer, with the company saying at the time that it had always wanted to serve the area but chose not to given the high costs of laying new fiber in the neighborhood.

McGinn and University of Washington president Michael Young have also been working together to help improve Internet speeds around the UW community.

Here’s a PDF of the official RFI and the release in full is below: