Seattle Aims To Speed Internet Connections For Home Users With Fiber Optics
Online, November 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - In Seattle, most homes don't have direct access to a fiber optic network. They are connected to it with copper cable that gives consumers much slower speeds and limited interactivity.
It's expensive to run fiber optic cable to homes. However, in many countries, governments pay for it. So, Seattle is proposing a way to share those costs, by offering up its own public fiber optic network in two neighborhoods to companies that are interested in connecting that network to people's homes.
Seattle owns more than 500 miles of fiber optic cable that connect public institutions in the city. It's the oldest municipal fiber optic network in the country, and has never been used commercially.
Local officials hope that a corporation such as Microsoft or Google will step up to the plate and vow to make the connections.
The project is part of a nationwide effort called Gig.U. It involves 37 universities, including the University of Washington. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says if it works out, it could become a model for bringing broadband to homes around the city.
The region's major cable provider, Comcast, says it's too early to comment on the project, but Comcast issued a statement saying that it has built and maintains hundreds of miles of fiber optic lines in Seattle, and it spends tens of millions of dollars each year expanding its network to businesses and going deeper into neighborhoods.
The project is part of a nationwide effort called Gig.U. It involves 37 universities, including the University of Washington. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says if it works out, it could become a model for bringing broadband to homes around the city.
The region's major cable provider, Comcast, says it's too early to comment on the project, but Comcast issued a statement saying that it has built and maintains hundreds of miles of fiber optic lines in Seattle, and it spends tens of millions of dollars each year expanding its network to businesses and going deeper into neighborhoods.