Consolidated Electric Cooperative, a member-owned utility cooperative, will use Adtran's equipment to deploy fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) to 15 school districts as well as a number of businesses in north central Ohio. The utility company is partnering with META Solutions, which provides connectivity to schools, for the deployment.
The utility was awarded $2.4 million in federal stimulus funding in 2009 to fund this $5 million project. According to Doug Payauys, vice president of information systems for Consolidated, the original fiber network using stimulus funding was augmented with Consolidated's own capital. "We have since expanded the network from the original 200 miles to over 300 miles and have plans for another 125 miles that has cleared the design phase and [is] supported by market demand," Payauys said via email. "Consolidated's fiber-optic network is focused on growth and opportunity that supports gigabit expansion throughout central Ohio."
The Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded more than $3 billion in broadband funding for 297 infrastructure projects, with a requirement that most of these be completed by June 2015.
"Technology is creating a shift in today's classroom, and it's transforming the way teachers educate and students learn. As the country becomes a more digital-based society, schools must work to transform lesson plans and accommodate new technologies," Payauys said.
Consolidated Electric Cooperative is affiliated with Touchstone Energy, a national alliance made up of more than 700 electric cooperatives in 46 states.
For more:
- see this release
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