The City of Culver City held its groundbreaking ceremony for the Municipal Fiber Network, Culver Connect, on Thursday, August 18, 2016. Culver Connect will allow the City to expand its existing fiber network to install approximately 21 route miles of fiber for a redundant network backbone. The network design includes three geographical network rings that are all interconnected and will also connect to telecommunications hubs at One Wilshire and in El Segundo.
“The City’s goal for extending this network is to enhance economic development by facilitating the delivery of high speed internet access for Culver City businesses located within the target areas. Culver Connect will also enhance broadband connectivity to the Culver City Unified School District and further advance Culver City’s reputation as a place of leading technology,” said Culver City Mayor Jim B. Clarke.
“Bringing the most advanced fiber optic network to Culver City will help existing businesses grow and attract others that rely on ultra-high speed connectivity,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Chief Executive Officer of NantWorks and NantCloud. “We are excited to partner with the City to accelerate the evolution of internet connectivity”. The City has partnered with Culver City-based Mox Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of NantWorks, LLC to design, implement and operate the Network.
The City will install an open access network, where it is envisioned that any Internet Service Provider (ISP) will have the opportunity to utilize the City’s fiber infrastructure to service the business community. Culver Connect will provide the business community with more service options when selecting a broadband provider. The City plans to conduct outreach efforts for businesses in the specific target areas toward the end of 2016.
Since 2013, City staff has been consulting with the Culver City business community about its needs for enhanced broadband connectivity. On November 9, 2015, the City Council appropriated funding for the design and construction of a Municipal Fiber Network for the purpose of facilitating high speed broadband connectivity to the business community, the School District, and also for municipal purposes. On June 27, 2016, the City Council awarded a construction contract to HP Communications to complete the fiber infrastructure construction, which is expected to be completed in August 2017. A concerted effort to source and buy materials from suppliers that are California based has resulted in more than $500,000 of materials sourced through California based manufactures and over $4.3 million awarded to California based contractors for this project.
Local businesses can go to www.culvercity.org/fiber to find out more information about Culver Connect.
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