i3 Broadband says it plans to spend more than $100 million to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH) infrastructure in St. Charles County, MO. Cities and towns that will benefit include St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Wentzville, Lake Saint Louis, Dardenne Prairie, Cottleville, Weldon Spring, among others.
The network design process has begun and construction of the FTTH network should launch early this spring. i3 Broadband says it will offer symmetrical gigabit services as well as up to 10 Gbps to St. Charles County residents later this year. The company estimates the deployment will take just over two years to complete.
"By expanding our network throughout St. Charles County, we're continuing to execute our long-term vision of substantially growing our footprint and our relationships with each community we serve," said Brian Olson, COO of i3 Broadband. "We're looking forward to continuing our work with the Economic Development Council of St. Charles County, the St. Charles County Administration, and leadership at all levels within each city to provide services that vastly surpass those of existing providers. Our expansion complements St. Charles County as an even more competitive place to live, work, and play. We've acquired our retail and regional office location and are thrilled to be bringing over 100 new jobs to the community in the next 18 months alone."
"We're glad to be welcoming i3 Broadband to the St. Peters business community," said Mayor Len Pagano. "Having i3 Broadband's base of operations in St. Peters and seeing them build fiber connections to homes and businesses throughout the county is a game-changer. Increased competition and service elevates quality of life for our residents, enhances business recruitment and opportunities, and will continue to set both St. Peters and our county apart."
For related articles, visit the FTTx Topic Center.
For more information on FTTx technology and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To keep abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.