IQ Fiber has revealed plans to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH) in parts of North Central Florida, including Gainesville. The fiber broadband network operator and services provider plans to spend almost $40 million on the FTTH network initiative.
Florida-based IQ Fiber, which recently closed $150 million in follow-on equity funding from its founding investor, SDC Capital Partners, LLC, is building FTTH infrastructure across Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns counties in the state (see, for example, "IQ Fiber plans Northern Florida FTTH expansion"). The Gainesville deployment be the first outside of the Jacksonville area. IQ Fiber adds that it plans to establish a satellite office in Gainesville and hire more than 30 employees to support the market expansion. Work on the underground network should begin this summer.
“We are excited to expand our network across North Florida so that Gainesville and Alachua County residents will finally have a modern internet choice,” said Ted Schremp, CEO of IQ Fiber. “Our 100% fiber-optic network delivers the reliability and ultra-fast symmetrical speeds that residents and neighborhoods need along with a streamlined customer experience they deserve.”
“It has always been a policy priority of mine to extend broadband competition in our community,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, Jr. “I’m pleased to see IQ Fiber expanding into the Gainesville market, and I hope their presence here will create a variety of opportunities for all our neighbors.”
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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.