POULSBO — When the Poulsbo City Council made the installation of fiber optic conduit part of its development regulations in 2001, it didn’t attract much attention.

Now, more than five years later, a contingent from Little Norway and Kitsap County is in Washington, D.C. to gain more knowledge about the world of fiber optic networks as part of a national conference focused on broadband networks in the governmental arena.

“It could be our fourth utility,” said Councilman Ed Stern. “We could have sewer, water, garbage and broadband.”

Who actually blows the fiber into the conduit and completes the network is yet to be decided, but it is important that the city has the infrastructure in place to ensure it can happen, he said.

“It was not insignificant that we did this,” Stern said.

Mayor Kathryn Quade agreed that what the city currently has in place is important, but where Stern’s focus is on the technological aspects, hers lies squarely on the policy ramifications.

“I think it will help us interpret how to do it, so we can see the benefits and/or drawbacks,” Quade said.

Along with the new technology come many legal questions that haven’t been fully answered yet, she said.

“I want to see the whole picture,” Quade said.

On the technology side, Quade said she is glad the city’s information technology manager, Tim Treecher, is attending the conference.

Having Treecher there will allow the rest of the city council and others to gain a better understanding of all the facets associated with the technology, aiding in the eventual decision-making process, Quade said.

Poulsbo Place was the first development in the city to install a broadband network and the College Marketplace has followed suit.

While wireless Internet service has already made its presence felt in the county, Stern said the city’s fiber optic network could eventually develop into an essential service provided by Poulsbo and lead to greater economic development countywide.

Currently, many county residents commute across the Sound for living wage jobs, placing an increased burden on the state’s aging highway system, he said.

But with a broadband network in place, those jobs could stay in the county or residents could telecommute, thus lessening the strain on both the environment and roads, he said.

In addition to learning about potential uses of both the city’s and county’s existing broadband infrastructure at the Washington, D.C. conference, Stern said local leaders will conduct numerous training exercises to get a better understanding of the actual challenges of pursuing the technology.

“We will be able to compare notes with our colleagues and see what it takes to roll it out,” Stern said.