News Room
‘Big Broadband’ progress reported
Article Source: The News-Gazette, Thursday, 4/12/2012, Don Dodson
Mike Smeltzer of the Urbana Champaign Big Broadband project said 75 percent of the conduits for the project have been installed so far, with the first fiber installed in February.
He said the first customers are expected to “go live” in June and July, with grant-funded construction slated to be complete by February 2013.
The $30 million project will result in a fiber-optic broadband network that will make fast connections available to a wide swath of the Champaign-Urbana area. The project is installing fiber-to-the-premises in 11 census block groups in C-U that have low rates of broadband adoption.
Smeltzer said if area leaders decide to wire the whole community, a private investment opportunity is available for accomplishing that.