By Josh Bergeron

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — As the city tries to sort out Fibrant’s future, at least three business customers dropped service last week.

The businesses include Integro Technologies in downtown Salisbury, Gamewell Mechanical on Jake Alexander Boulevard and Arco Capital Partners, also downtown. Combined, the three contracts are worth roughly $100,000 per year, according to a city official.

The losses come as city government attempts to complete a contract for a private company to lease or manage Fibrant — a process that started months ago and has mostly been handled in private.

Elected officials and city staff members said they expect a certain level of turnover in customers. However, an email obtained by the Salisbury Post shows that commercial revenue is down by at least $30,000 per year from September 2016 to this year.

City spokeswoman Linda McElroy said city officials cannot comment about specifics of the recent business departures other than to say Fibrant has lost some customers and gained others.

“Fibrant is considered as a municipal utility, and we are not able to share customer information,” McElroy said in an email. “Also, our utility relationships are not public record. You will have to receive the information you seek from the customer themselves.”

A representative for Integro confirmed the business no longer subscribes to Fibrant services but would not comment further. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Salisbury, Integro describes itself as a machine vision integrator.

Robert Aiken, branch manager of Arco Capital Partners, also confirmed that his business no longer subscribes to Fibrant. Aiken said the decision was not a service-related issue. He said Arco had experienced a technology problem. Fibrant employees worked as hard as possible to resolve the issue, he said. Now that Arco has switched service providers, the same problem exists, he said.

Arco Capital Partners is a financial services business.

A representative of Gamewell Mechanical could not be reached to comment on the company’s decision to drop Fibrant service. On its website, Gamewell Mechanical describes itself as a mechanical contractor.

Mayor Karen Alexander commented on the business departures by saying that Fibrant operates in a competitive marketplace. Private companies may choose to offer lower rates than Fibrant to secure customers, Alexander said.

Alexander said the main reason for the slight, year-over-year decline in commercial revenue is a reduction in the amount that the city bills itself for dark fiber, which she said is similar to an intranet.

Meanwhile, Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Blackwell said she feels confident that Fibrant can regain Integro, Gamewell Mechanical and Arco Financial as customers once city officials agree on the future of the city-owned service.

“Our speed, reliability and customer service can’t be matched by anyone,” Blackwell said in an emailed statement.

It’s unclear when the city might complete its contract with a third-party group to lease or manage Fibrant.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.