MCNC, an independent, non-profit organization that employs advanced networking technologies and systems to help Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) in North Carolina communicate more effectively, announced on April 27 the completion of the first round of the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative (GLRBI).
“This first phase of the project already is having a positive impact on student learning, patient outcomes in health care, economic outcomes in job creation and community development, and is accelerating innovation and research all across the state,” said MCNC President and CEO Joe Freddoso in the MCNC press release. “Our goal is to continue creating infrastructure that meets the advanced needs of research, education, and health care while stabilizing costs to consumers and small businesses in areas where affordable broadband currently isn’t available.”
Broadband fiber associated with phase one of the project is now active and serving CAIs, including K-12 schools, universities, community colleges, health care facilities, public health facilities, libraries, research institutions, and other sectors of CAIs in western and southeastern North Carolina, according to the release. For these same regions, fiber is now available for potential commercial business and last-mile consumer broadband needs to be met through first-phase commercial partner FRC LLC.
“The future of North Carolina through improved access to education, better healthcare and robust economic development is enhanced with the completion of the first phase of the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative,” said Gov. Bev Perdue in the release. “We can only imagine today the innovation and economic growth that will occur in the future due to the expansion of this infrastructure that allows the great minds of North Carolina to collaborate with the world.”
The GLRBI is funded through grants from U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and significant matching funds from private donations and investments, including a $24 million investment from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Once complete through two phases, the GLRBI will greatly expand the reach and capacity of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) in the state.
MCNC received federal approval to begin the second phase of the GLRBI in June 2011. Since that time, MCNC has mobilized efforts and made significant progress on this portion of the project, which is three-times the size of the first phase, in terms of new construction. Total operational miles will be 2604 for this project, with 904 operational miles in phase one and 1700 in phase two.
The participating vendors and contractors who worked on Round One include: Fiber Technologies for construction/installation of fiber in western North Carolina; Globe Communications for construction/installation of fiber in the southeast; Comtech for all the fiber splicing related to this portion of the project; Cisco Systems for providing the Cisco ONS 15454 Optical Design Network Solution; CommScope for supplying all fiber-optic cable and materials; and ONUG Communications for engineering design, project planning and related services. All vendors and contractors associated with the first phase of the project were either North Carolina-based or had a strong N.C. presence.
Read the MCNC press release.