Boone County’s Finance Court approved a partnership with Cincinnati Bell that those in charge expect will lead to the development of a 1 gigabit high-speed broadband network available to every address in the county.
The robust network is deployed within a period of 24 to 36 months.
A press conference was held on Wednesday to announce the partnership. Boone County officials said the project is the first of its kind in the nation.
Judge / General Manager Gary Moore said the broadband roll-out would reach more than 40,000 underserved businesses and residential addresses.
“The quote I heard last night was comparing this type of technology to an age in the past when people could turn on their lights and the electricity was distributed across the country,” said Moore. “I’m not sure we fully understand the implications of everything this project will bring. Some people will start getting high-speed fiber to their door in the next few weeks and months. It’s an amazing delivery schedule.”
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn more attention to the need for connectivity and the overall quality of life for the community.
Boone County has committed $ 13.6 million after drawing on available grants and partner funding. This, in turn, has resulted in an investment by Cincinnati Bell of more than $ 30 million to fund this project.
The base backbone system will be a state-of-the-art fiber for the operating model and ideally construct a high speed fiber optic cable running along each county road with the aim of providing additional system equipment and ensuring that each residence is fiber qualified to be able to handle the extended Subscribe to internet service platform.
UniCity, Cincinnati Bell’s smart city organization, will fund $ 500,000 worth of improvements to Boone County’s public Wi-Fi infrastructure. UniCity is designed to work with communities and develop technology applications that support business district growth, neighborhood improvements, and public safety.
Jason Praeter, president of entertainment and communications for Cincinnati Bell, said the CVG airport is the number one in the country for high-speed WiFi in the nation. The fiber-optic base system in Boone County is designed to ensure that the capacity can handle all future development and technology updates.
Cincinnati Bell has a long history of deploying and managing large and complex wired and wireless projects. As the leading provider of fiber optic operations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the company has invested more than $ 1 billion in building a fiber optic network across the region since 2010.
Other project funding partners contributing to the initiative include the Boone County School District, Walton-Verona School District, Boone County Public Library and Boone County Expansion.
“Providing access to high-speed service for every address in the county is critical to creating a high quality of life environment and positioning our county as a community of choice for residents and businesses,” said Moore. “The partnership with Cincinnati Bell will leverage significant private equity investments that would not have been made without the tax court’s commitment and cement our position at the forefront of economic development, innovation and focus on the needs of our citizens.”
Written by Patricia A. Scheyer, RCN staff member
Comments are closed.