In what is called a fiber-optic boom, miles and miles of land are being dug up and fiber optics cables are being laid throughout Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks to an explosion of data-hungry, high-tech companies throughout the First Coast, the Jacksonville area was desperate for extreme high-speed access. The fiber cables are vital for the economy; especially as area growth focuses on connecting buildings and data centers within local metros like Jacksonville.
“Adding more capacity to the backbone of Jacksonville can assist us, grow our economy and add more jobs,” Sanjay Ahuja, a full professor at the University of North Florida School of Computing, said to the Florida Times-Union.
New York-based Allied Fiber is the network-neutral company behind the project. Allied Fiber is the first network-neutral colocation and dark fiber company that offers combined long-haul and multi-access points, short-haul fiber optic systems and network-neutral colocation facilities and direct access for wireless towers and rural broadband networks. The network-neutral project allows telecom providers, cable companies, wireless companies and other businesses all access to the fiber optic network.
The Jacksonville area aims to use the increases in broadband connectivity to energize their economy, build jobs and to help them become a new information technology route that drives business recruitment.
“It’s a big deal and it’s growing,” Jerry Mallot, president of JAXUSA Partnership, the JAX Chamber’s economic development organization, said to the Florida Times-Union. ”The ability to have broader capacity and higher speed of data transmission is a critical element to all companies.”
The Jacksonville project began in Miami and will eventually connect all the way to Atlanta. This is the first phase of a five-phase national fiber optic project that will trace railroad routes.
GeoTel Communications’ fiber network maps and other fiber maps can be used by local governments, city officials, and urban planners, like those in Jacksonville, to find new ways to increase their city’s connectivity by analyzing existing fiber infrastructure. If you are interested in obtaining fiber maps or other fiber GIS products, contact GeoTel Communications at 407.788.8888.
