This spring, the ground was broken on a new intercity fiber optic project connecting New York City to Ashburn, VA, which Gizmodo refers to as the “Bullseye of America’s Internet.” The new fiber-optic network, built by United Fiber & Data, has a few surprising backers: three members of the multi-platinum band, Live.
Live skyrocketed to international fame with their 1994 album, Throwing Copper. The York, Pennsylvania band was named “Rock Artist of the Year” by SPIN, Rolling Stone and Billboard. Three members of the band — Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, and Chad Gracey — viewed investing in the new network as a way to provide community access, increase job opportunities and stimulate the local economy.
“The band members are dedicated to their hometown communities in Pennsylvania, and it is their intent to give back to this region that still supports them heavily,” states William Hynes, Founder and member of the Board of Directors for United Fiber & Data.
The 300-mile. low latency, high-capacity, all-optical fiber network will interconnect key data centers, financial trading locations, and carriers running from New York down to Washington, DC. Instead of running directly down the I-95 corridor, the network will take a diverse route that traverses Allentown, Reading, Lancaster, and York, Pennsylvania before traveling through Frederick, Maryland and into Ashburn, Virginia. The new fiber-optic network aims to drive local and regional commerce and community access by offering more bandwidth flexibility for businesses along or near the network build.
Today, the possibilities of fiber optics are nearly limitless. Fiber-optic networks enable to download and upload speeds of more than 100 times faster than broadband. Not only does this make web content more accessible to both residents and businesses alike, but it also enhances the possibility for innovation.
For investors looking to get into the fiber optic business, fiber maps and broadband maps can be utilized to analyze existing infrastructure and build out their own fiber optic networks. If you are interested in obtaining telecom GIS data sets for a particular city or metro area, contact GeoTel Communications at (800) 277-2172.
