i3 Broadband has announced a pair of expansion initiatives that will extend its fiber to the home (FTTH) footprint in Illinois. The service provider has announced plans to roll out FTTH to residences and businesses in the Greater Rockford area as well as five communities in McHenry County.
The Greater Rockford effort will see FTTH reach Machesney Park, Rockford, Roscoe, and Winnebago County. i3 Broadband says it also plans to increase its local workforce in the area ad asserts plans for local office, retail, and warehousing are under way.
“By expanding our network to the Greater Rockford area, we see an opportunity to continue to execute our long-term vision of making affordable, high-speed fiber optic broadband available to more of Illinois's residences and businesses,” said Clint Streit, vice president/general manager Northern Illinois, i3 Broadband. “We are committed to building quality fiber-optic networks, offering competitive choice for consumers, and partnering with communities and organizations to provide access to today's best technology. We have been meeting with community leaders and getting to know some of the families and businesses, and what we are hearing is people are looking for better options for their broadband service. We are thrilled to be getting to work with the communities to meet those needs.”
In McHenry County, i3 Broadband says it will begin with FTTH in Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, McHenry, and Woodstock.
“The news that i3 Broadband is expanding into McHenry County is welcome as we continue to work on ensuring that all of our residents, businesses, and schools have access to reliable and affordable Internet,” said McHenry County Administrator Peter B. Austin. “Having another vendor to choose from not only aids this effort, but also furthers consumer choice and will help our local economy thrive.”
In addition to Illinois, i3 Broadband also operates in parts of Missouri and in the Warren, Bristol, and Barrington markets in the East Bay area of Rhode Island.
For related articles, visit the FTTx Topic Center.
For more information on FTTx technology and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.
