The Broadband Group And Huntsville Utilities Bring Google Fiber To Huntsville, Alabama

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Broadband Group, in partnership with Huntsville Utilities (Alabama), announced today the launch of Huntsville Utilities' Fiber Transport Network, a historic partnership to accelerate the deployment of ultra-high speed Internet service throughout the service territory of the Utility.  As part of this announcement, Google Fiber also announced they will be working with the Utility to provide service on the network that will be entirely owned by Huntsville Utilities.

"Abundant high-speed Internet can help communities grow stronger, laying a foundation for innovation and economic growth," said Jill Szuchmacher, Director of Expansion for Google Fiber. "Huntsville's leaders have taken a big step by bringing a new fiber network to their residents and businesses. We look forward to working with Huntsville Utilities and the City to bring Google Fiber to more people."

For the past two years, The Broadband Group has led the engineering, financial modeling, and operational readiness plans for Huntsville Utilities.  Jay Stowe, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Huntsville Utilities noted that, "With the vision of today's Huntsville leaders, including the Huntsville Utilities Electric Board, the assistance of committed partners like Tom Reiman of The Broadband Group, and the dedication of the entire Huntsville Utilities team, we evaluated the best methods to accomplish two goals.  The first of these was the need to utilize high-speed data for our internal operational purposes and second, to provide high-speed broadband access to our residents and customers."

Today's announcement will make ultra-high-speed gigabit access from a quality service provider available to residents throughout Huntsville. Additionally, the potential influence this may have on regional economic development efforts is of great interest to city leadership.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle noted, "Google's entrance into our market bolsters our high-tech legacy, energizes our entrepreneurs, tinkers and engineers, and supports the high quality of life Huntsville is known for delivering," said Mayor Battle. "Fiber to the Home is the Internet infrastructure for the 21^st century. It is as vital to our quality of life as roads, water, sewer and electricity.  It will become the benchmark for cities vying for talent."

"We already know Huntsville is a place where people do cool things, smart things, things that change the world," said Mayor Battle. "A rocket city deserves rocket speed, and that means a network that connects to the Internet at 1 gigabit per second. Your Internet will be 50 to 100 times faster than it is today."

Tom Reiman, President of The Broadband Group, noted that, "Innovative planning comes in all sizes; next generation high-speed networks should not be limited only to the large Tier One cities in the United States. This announcement is a game changer for every mid-size city, municipality, and community in the nation. This model is replicable to where public entities and private service providers, working together, essentially shift the underlying economic model." Entities such as Huntsville Utilities, requiring fiber networks for next generation service management, can lease excess bandwidth, advancing what has been, to date, an unachievable market for gigabit broadband services. Reiman continued, "The economics supporting mid-size city and community broadband investments has been challenged when funded on a stand alone basis; this model is transformative."

Huntsville Utilities and The Broadband Group have also announced a continuing partnership where The Broadband Group will oversee the estimated three-year time frame to build and activate the network.

About The Broadband Group:
The Broadband Group (TBG), incorporated in 1997 and headquartered in Las Vegas, NV, is a leading telecommunications consulting and business advisory firm. TBG assists clients in developing plans for advanced broadband, video, voice, security, home control/management, telemedicine, and energy information services for cities, municipalities, utilities, and master planned communities. TBG provides business, financial, engineering design, and technology strategy services that create a sustainable competitive advantage to clients nationwide.

SOURCE The Broadband Group

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