Fatbeam may not compete with Google Fiber (Nasdaq: GOOG) yet in the markets it serves, but the company's recent win to provide a 2 Gbps network to serve the Butte, Mont., school district shows that the competitive provider has taken a note from the Internet giant's playbook.
The competitive provider will build a $1.6 million all fiber-based network that will provide 2 Gbps connections to 14 Butte school district locations.
Services are being delivered to the school district via a partnership between Fatbeam and the Montana Economic Revitalization and Development Institute (MERDI).
Phillip J. Curtiss, owner of SIAFU Technology Group, which manages the MERDI data center in Butte, said the new network connectivity, in conjunction with a recent investment MERDI made in its data center, will enable it to deliver "virtual desktop infrastructure, virtual private clusters, high-speed broadband access to the Internet, disaster recovery and business continuity services that are today not readily available in Butte, Montana."
Operating now in five states--Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming--Fatbeam is becoming a new option in rural areas like Butte for area service providers such as tw telecom (Nasdaq: TWTC) and XO as well as for a growing base of school districts and health care providers that have traditionally been ignored by larger providers.
For more:
- see the release
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