LOUISVILLE, Colo. – October 5, 2011– Zayo announced it is participating in the construction of a new fiber optic network across Western Ohio. The network connects Toledo, OH to Columbus, OH and covers multiple underserved towns throughout Western Ohio. Com Net, Inc. has been awarded $30 million for their GigE Plus Availability Coalition (GigEPAC) project from the federal Recovery Act Broadband Technology Opportunities Program to add and expand broadband services to rural and underserved communities in Western Ohio. Zayo is a sub-recipient of this award. In order to effectively implement the project, Com Net established the GigE Plus Availability Coalition consisting of Zayo, OARnet and an initial group of 33 Broadband Service Providers to deploy broadband to 28 western Ohio counties.
“The construction of this fiber network represents a significant milestone in the economic development of western Ohio communities,” said Matt Erickson, President of Zayo Fiber Solutions. “Partnering with GigE Pac, led by Com Net, Zayo can support the delivery of high speed bandwidth to the underserved businesses and organizations in western Ohio.”
Upon completion, the project will add nearly 366 new miles of fiber to Zayo’s existing Ohio network and will expand existing broadband services through the GigEPAC partners to rural and underserved communities in 28 Western Ohio counties. The network build provides connectivity to schools, state and local governments, public safety entities, libraries and community support organizations. The project also enables local service providers to connect to the open network to serve additional customers.
“Com Net is excited to continue with the construction project, join in the national broadband rollout and accelerate the deployment of reliable high-speed services to rural western and central Ohio,” says Tim Berelsman, CEO, Com Net. “The construction of Zayo’s 366 miles of fiber optic plant will connect with existing facilities of Com Net and its partners to create the backbone of a new, highly survivable, broadband infrastructure that serves as an enabler for economic development throughout the region.”
The project’s objectives are to:
· Provide Connectivity for community anchor institutions through the partners high capacity fiber network including K-12, state and local government, public safety, libraries and community support organization facilities
· Spur affordable broadband access for local consumers and businesses by enabling local service providers to connect to the GigE Plus project’s open network
· Encourage investment in economically distressed counties served by the project, many of which have unemployment rates higher than the state average
About Zayo Group
Based in Louisville, Colo., privately owned Zayo Group (www.zayo.com) is a national provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and interconnection services. Zayo serves wireline and wireless carriers, data centers, internet content and services companies, high bandwidth enterprises as well as federal, state and local government agencies. Zayo provides these services over regional, metro and fiber-to-the-tower networks. Zayo’s network assets include over 23,000 route miles, connecting 153 markets across 31 states plus Washington D.C. Additionally, Zayo has over 4,300 buildings on-net, more than 1,900 cell towers on-net, and over 170,000 square feet of colocation space. Zayo was recently named one of the Denver-areas Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Denver Business Journal.
About Com Net
Com Net, Inc. has 17 years of experience working with independent rural telecom operators in the region to provide broadband, advanced voice, video and data services. Com Net is a managing member of various shared networks, including Broadband Network Group, Independents Fiber Network and Tier 2 Communications. Fiber facilities under Com Net’s management in northwestern Ohio currently span over 600 miles and serve over 20 independent last mile providers, both wireless and wireline. Com Net is a member of the Independent Alliances Telecom Group (INDATELgroup™), an organization composed of Network Operators covering over 20 states that are owned by Independent Telephone Companies from their home states. Com Net is a partner in the Ohio Middle Mile Consortium (OMMC), which includes fellow BTOP applicant, OneCommunity in northeastern Ohio, who has a pending BTOP application; fellow BTOP applicant, Horizon Telcom serving southeast Ohio, who has a pending BTOP application; Ohio’s Office of Information Technology, Department of Administrative Services; and OARnet, the State’s Academic and Research network. The OMMC partners have come together to integrate their service platform across 82 Ohio counties. GigE Plus Availability and GigEPAC are Trademarks of Com Net, Inc. For more information, please visit www.cniteam.com or call 419-739-3100.
About OARnet
The Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) was established by the Ohio Board of Regents in 1987 to provide researchers with access to the computational resources of the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Today, OARnet provides Ohio’s colleges and universities and their research partners with an integrated technology infrastructure that includes unrivaled intrastate network connectivity and shared services. www.oar.net.
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Media Contact
Brittany Sever
303.381.3268
bsever@zayo.com
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