Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal • February 29, 2016 www.wbjournal.com Every business needs this," said Timothy P. Murray, chamber president and CEO. "To the extent we can have fiber throughout the city, we can make the city more competitive." Much of Worcester's already vast fiber network includes fiber loops laid in the area in the late 1990s by the com- pany that is now Lightower, according to the chamber's report, and one of the challenges going forward will be pro- viding fast Internet at prices small busi- nesses can handle. e cost of the installation of these fiber networks is borne entirely by the companies that will operate them, like Lightower and Spectrum Busi- ness. e city of Worcester and other property owners simply partner with these providers to get the network in- frastructure installed at these facilities. Lightower spends $600-$700 million annually updating its fiber networks while Spectrum spends $2 billion a year. Fiber potential The White House's 2015 Community Based Broadband Report found Worcester is one of 495 cities and towns in the U.S. – and one of 10 in Massachusetts – with a broadband net- work in place, and the broadband here is fiber. Fiber is able to transmit data tens or even hundreds of times faster than DSL or cable, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Businesses in Worcester can take advantage of both lit and dark fiber. Lit fiber is operated and maintained by an Internet provider like Spectrum Business, and dark fiber is maintained by the end user. If a business wants or needs to manage its network in-house using its own equipment, then dark fiber is the better option. Fiber provides great security and scalability, and large amounts of bandwidth, said Abigail McLaughlin of telecommunications consultant AJ Mayfair. A small percentage of cities with broadband have fiber, and an even smaller percentage of those have dark fiber. Worcester is one of those towns. Worcester has 10 data centers within 20 miles of the city. This means busi- nesses can back up their data in a secure, nearby location, McLaughlin said. The city has 11 fiber providers, including companies who lease the fiber they own to others, like Lightower, and six long-haul providers, enabling state-to-state access. Economic development impact Since fiber offers unlimited speed and bandwidth potential, having it can be instrumental towards fostering econom- ic growth, Murray said. A 2013 chamber BE A PART OF CONNECTICUT'S LARGEST LIVE BUSINESS EVENT OF THE YEAR! Prosper JUNE 9TH 1 6 T H A N N U A L CT CONVENTION CENTER • HARTFORD CTBEXPO.COM LEARN • CONNECT • PROSPER RESERVE NOW FOR THE BEST BOOTH LOCATIONS! To view the 2016 floor plan and for exhibiting information please contact Jessica Baker at jbaker@HartfordBusiness.com or 860-236-9998 x122 Media Par tners: Produced By: Presented By: Platinum Sponsors: SYSTEMS Event Technology Solutions www.prosystems.tv Gold Sponsors: Event Par tners: Worcester expanding its fiber broadband network >> Continued from Page 1

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