Quick Hits: Triangle Fiber Network
Quick hits are posts about development news as I hear about them! If you have feedback on the format, please share in the comments below!
Neighborhood:
Estimated Cost:
Expected Completion Date:
Project Owners:
Triangle Fiber Network
Neighborhood:
Throughout the Triangle (including in Durham: Duke, NCCU, and RTP area)
Size:
110 miles
Estimated Cost:
$10 million
Expected Completion Date:
August 2018
Details:
110 miles of fiber will be installed to form a ring, connecting Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, and RTP
Project Owners:
MCNC and Duke University
Obviously, this post is very different from my normal building developments. However, this upgraded infrastructure that is intended for hospitals, schools, and government use will be open to use to companies providing services to businesses and residences going forward as well (they would have to provide the connections to offices and residences, of course). This project could have an impact on the types of businesses and people that decide to call Durham home. The fact that it is a partnership between Duke and nonprofit MCNC means that taxpayer dollars aren't being spent. It also means that a single private company has sole access to it.
Of course, the roll-out of Google Fiber in Durham has been moving at a snail's pace, so it remains to be seen how this will affect the area and how long it will take (i.e. my expectations are tempered). However, in other news a new FCC ruling would give private companies access to telephone poles. The biggest delay in Google Fiber has been digging all of those trenches, so there may be better connectivity in the Bull City's future on a couple of fronts!