BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A major high-speed fiber Internet expansion is coming to the Magic City.
Southern Light, a Mobile-based provider of fiber optic broadband Internet originally announced last summer that it would bring 120 miles of fiber optic cables to Birmingham. That original agreement has been expanded to 500 miles of cable that will bring Internet speeds 1,000 times faster than current providers.
“Since we started in 1998, we have looked forward to the day that we could expand into the Birmingham market,” said Andy Newton, president and CEO of Southern Light. “There is tremendous demand in the entire Birmingham MSA, and we look forward to getting to work, providing cutting edge solutions to area businesses.”
Southern Light is also making plans to bring high-speed Internet to other cities in the Birmingham area like Mountain Brook and Vestavia.
Laying 500 miles of cable will take quite a while, but Southern Light says the first customers will get their faster Internet in just a few months. The first wave of fiber Internet will go out to businesses and government buildings in the city, and the Retirement Systems of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Women’s and Infants Center and the Department of Defense 117th Air National Guard facility are at the top of the list to reap the benefits of high-speed Internet.
Although Southern Light will initially focus on businesses and government districts, their cables will have an open-access network that can eventually be extended to residential areas too.
Birmingham’s growing technology industry will also greatly benefit from fiber Internet, and having this technology in the Magic City will be a powerful bargaining chip when courting new business.
Birmingham Mayor William Bell is excited about the economic development the new fiber cables will bring to the city.
“The fiber optic infrastructure will allow Birmingham to increase its Internet capabilities and use them in a more efficient and effective way,” Bell said. “Over the past few years, Birmingham has strategically been working on building its infrastructure to support the technology coming out of UAB and many businesses in the area, and we have formed a great partnership with Southern Light so that businesses and individuals can receive the best technological infrastructure possible.”
As Alabama has become more business-friendly in recent years, cities within the state have taken steps to make themselves more appealing to new businesses. Opelika became the first “Gig City” with fiber Internet infrastructure in the state, and just last month Huntsville announced that Google Fiber’s high-speed Internet would be coming to North Alabama. Now Birmingham is throwing its hat in the ring by strengthening its fiber Internet capabilities.
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