Magellan and the City of Chesapeake Kick Off Construction of City's Broadband Network

DENVER, Oct. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Magellan, the leader in engineering and building next-generation broadband networks, will kick off construction next month on the City of Chesapeake, Virginia's next-generation fiber network, Chesapeake Connects. The city and Magellan have partnered over the past three years to plan and design the network, which spans 160-miles and connects over 200 local government sites.

The City of Chesapeake understood its need for connectivity was never going to decrease and its current network solutions were under performing and costly. The city led a master planning process to aggregate all city, utility, public safety, traffic, schools, libraries and behavioral health sites to a single network that will operate as Chesapeake Connects, a City of Chesapeake enterprise.

Under the agreement, Magellan will provide turnkey project management, construction management and construction inspection services, overseeing daily construction activities as Owner's Representative for the city while buildout occurs over the next 24-30 months.

The city initially will deploy the network internally to connect its facilities and sites. Chesapeake eventually plans to work with service providers and enable them access to the network to complete last-mile distribution projects in areas of the city where unserved and underserved households are located.

"Magellan's partnership on the Chesapeake Connects broadband project will help provide critical infrastructure to enable greater educational opportunities, drive economic development and expand high-speed internet access to underserved areas in our city," said City of Chesapeake Councilwoman Susan Vitale.

"We look forward to extending our relationship with the City of Chesapeake into the construction phase of this critical project," said Magellan President and CEO John Honker. "Chesapeake sees the value a fiber-optic backbone will have for the city, and we are glad to play a key role in bringing that to fruition by leveraging our highly skilled team in every aspect of the process. This project continues Magellan's commitment to working with partners and clients to provide broadband access to everyone."

Construction is expected to begin in September and be completed in late 2024/early 2025.

Magellan provides planning, engineering, grant development, implementation and management of the fastest, most technologically advanced fiber and broadband networks. Our mission is to connect every community, one at a time, to the digital economy so that no one is left behind. Our goal is to find practical broadband and technology solutions that our clients can implement in their communities. Through Magellan's services, more than $1 billion in new broadband investments has connected more than 1,000 schools, hospitals, libraries and governments and passed nearly 1 million homes with fiber-optic broadband. Learn more at www.magellan-advisors.com.

SOURCE Magellan