‘GigaCity’ Technology Fires Up in Jasper
(file photo)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEllettsville-based Smithville Fiber says the first of its "GigaCity" customers is online. The company reached an agreement early last year with the city of Jasper to construct a high-speed, Gigabit network, which includes a fiber-optic ring.
All Jasper residential and business customers are set to have access to the Smithville Fiber services by 2018. Smithville President John Patten, who took on the new position in January, says "this is an exciting time for Smithville Fiber in Jasper. We’ve completed a gigantic amount of work in planning, engineering and setting up our initial network, and we’re right on track."
Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz says the enhanced services will be "great news" for the Dubois County city. "We’re now a step closer to bringing GigaCity fiber services to Jasper and we anticipate this technology will impact our individual and corporate citizens in a major way." The project began in January of 2015.
The first group includes over 20 homes and Smithville will continue to bring on more as construction progresses.
Smithville has placed a major emphasis in recent years on fiber connectivity. Late last year, it announced millions of dollars in upgrades to services in several southeast central Indiana communities. Its first foray into Gigabit service came last year and the company detailed its initial "fiberhood" in Bloomington during an episode of Inside INdiana Business Television.
The state’s largest independent telecommunications company has more than 140 employees, serving some 23,000 businesses and residences.