Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Hudson, Ohio officials are now accepting bids on a promising new fiber-to-the-home network that should dramatically improve affordable, next-generation broadband access in the city of 23,000.

It’s just the latest effort by a city that has been exploring the option of municipal broadband infrastructure for more than a decade.

Just 15 miles north of Akron, the city has spent the better part of the last three years preparing to forge a new public-private-partnership (PPP) to expand access.

The city already owns and operates its own broadband network (Velocity Broadband, launched in 2015), but it exclusively serves the city’s businesses with gigabit-capable fiber.

The city’s new partnership would leverage that existing business network and core fiber assets to finally bring fiber optic connectivity to the city’s residents.

“The proposed work includes the installation of new fiber optic infrastructure, including approximately 11,750 lineal feet of 1.5-inch underground HDPE fiber conduit via horizontal directional drilling, 7,900 lineal feet of new aerial fiber, the placement of underground fiber vaults and handholes, and the subsequent fiber optic cable installation and testing,” the city’s proposal states.

Empower Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virginia-based Mecklenburg Electrical Cooperative, says it has successfully deployed affordable fiber access to more than 7,500 subscribers across long-neglected and underserved portions of the Old Dominion state.

Mecklenburg Coop, created in 1938, serves 31,000 residential and business electrical customers across portions of nine Southside Virginia counties and five northern North Carolina counties. Like many cooperatives, Mecklenburg and Empower are leveraging generations-old experiences at rural electrification to migrate into the broadband business.

In 2022, the coop broke ground on a $154 million initiative to bring high-speed internet to 14,634 unserved and underserved locations in Halifax, Mecklenburg, and the southern portions of Charlotte and Brunswick counties. As of today, the Mecklenburg fiber network consists of 2,900 miles of fiber and passes by 23,443 locations, with additional expansion planned.

Empower Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virginia-based Mecklenburg Electrical Cooperative, says it has successfully deployed affordable fiber access to more than 7,500 subscribers across long-neglected and underserved portions of the Old Dominion state.

Mecklenburg Coop, created in 1938, serves 31,000 residential and business electrical customers across portions of nine Southside Virginia counties and five northern North Carolina counties. Like many cooperatives, Mecklenburg and Empower are leveraging generations-old experiences at rural electrification to migrate into the broadband business.

In 2022, the coop broke ground on a $154 million initiative to bring high-speed internet to 14,634 unserved and underserved locations in Halifax, Mecklenburg, and the southern portions of Charlotte and Brunswick counties. As of today, the Mecklenburg fiber network consists of 2,900 miles of fiber and passes by 23,443 locations, with additional expansion planned.