FRENCH LICK, Indiana – Smithville launched a new fiber connectivity project for rural areas of Orange County, which will replace older copper infrastructure with fiber, according to Paul Quick, Smithville president. The project, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, is now in the main construction phase.
“This further demonstrates our commitment to continuing to upgrade our infrastructure to serve our rural customers with better service,” said Darby A. McCarty, chairman and CEO of Smithville. “This will help close the rural digital divide that exists in the region.”
When complete, the project will provide direct fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity for 52 residences in the area. Smithville is also building a fiber-to-the-cabinet extension for Smithville customers located north of the rural fiber build. This extension will provide “significant improvement” in capacity and DSL speeds for the area, according to Quick. An additional 48 homes will receive this new fiber-enhanced improvement.
The project is being privately financed by Smithville without grant funding or other external assistance, according to Cullen McCarty, executive vice president. The FTTH-ready homes that convert to fiber internet service will have a Smithville 844E GigaCenter installed, which allows for internet speeds up to 1,000 Mbps (gigabit).
“This Upper Sandhill project reflects Smithville’s ongoing commitment to improving connectivity to our rural customers as funds and capacity permits,” said Cullen McCarty. “We will continue to invest in our network, build, and upgrade our legacy service.”
About Smithville
Nationally recognized for more than a decade as a Top 100 Broadband Company, privately owned Smithville is Indiana’s largest independent telecom company with more than 200 employees. As a fifth-generation, family-owned business, Smithville has been committed to delivering fast and reliable connectivity and legendary service to its customers for nearly a century. The company is well-known as an industry leader and community supporter for rural Indiana.
Since the early 1990s, Smithville has constructed more than 2,800 miles of high-speed, high-capacity fiber across more than 17 Indiana counties, representing private investments totaling upward of a quarter of a billion dollars, including the recent completion of a $4.5 million, 100-gigabit fiber ring.
In addition to its residential services, Smithville provides commercial fiber-based connectivity for businesses, university campuses, biotechnology companies, healthcare providers, government offices, residential centers, communities, and other entities, including the WestGate@Crane Technology Park and the Purdue Research Park. The company currently serves about 23,000 businesses and residences in southern and central Indiana. For more information, please visit www.smithville.com.
