![]() As popularity of streaming increases, having fast, reliable internet at home or in a business is more important than ever. Kirks said Quantum Fiber is trending at getting about 3,000-4,000 addresses connected per month.īertholdi said the two main benefits of fiber internet versus traditional copper lines are speed and reliability. “It was going to bridge the gap to everybody, so it was a ubiquitous availability to everybody as opposed to what we had seen in the past which was cherry-picking neighborhoods,” he said.īy the time the project is complete – estimated in fall of 2022 – fiber internet will be available to 115,000 addresses within Springfield city limits, with service accessible to all residences and businesses in the city. Bertholdi said the southwest corner is the next targeted area to complete.īefore the project began, fiber was available in some areas of the city, but primarily only to commercial customers and specific residential neighborhoods, Bertholdi said. The week of June 7, crews were hanging fiber lines in southwest Springfield’s Greater Parkcrest Neighborhood. A portion between Commercial Street and Chestnut Expressway had been installed but not connected as of press time. ![]() Most of the north side of the city has been connected via the new fiber network. While about one-third of the city’s lines were installed by the week of June 7, the rate of connection to the internet is about one-fourth of the city, said Steve Kirks, fiber market lead for Quantum Fiber.Īfter CU crews install the fiber, Lumen follows within about 90 days to connect the lines to its service and provide internet to customers in the area, Bertholdi said. “We generally own the utility poles and have access to the right-of-way, so it makes a lot of sense for us to build the fiber network and lease the network out to providers who are better at providing services.” “The utility is really good at building infrastructure,” he said. The utility lease model allows both parties to do what they do best, he said. Officials declined to disclose financial terms for the lease agreement, but the initial lease period is 15 years, followed by three autorenewal periods every five years, Bertholdi said. CU will handle installation of the lines, and Lumen will lease the lines and provide internet services via Quantum Fiber, its platform for fiber-based connectivity. The two companies entered into a utility lease agreement, Bertholdi said. The project is a partnership with Lumen, an internet provider and parent company of CenturyLink. As of early June, CU’s portion of the collaborative project is about one-third complete, said Jeff Bertholdi, director of CU’s SpringNet division. After about 16 months of work, a $120 million fiber-optic network expansion by City Utilities of Springfield is on track for completion late next year.Ĭrews began laying 1,110 miles of fiber-optic lines in February 2020, with a goal of completion within three years.
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