Inter-County Broadband Network and OFS Announce Roll-Out of Inter-County Broadband Network at Press Event
ELKRIDGE, Md., June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- OFS, a leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of innovative fiber optic network products, and the Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN), today announce that they are formally launching construction with the opening of the ICBN Logistics Operation Center with a press event in Howard County, Maryland.
The ICBN is a collaborative, inter-governmental consortium comprised of 10 central Maryland jurisdictions [Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties and the cities of Baltimore and Annapolis] that will use high-speed fiber optic cable to connect 715 anchor institutions, including hundreds of public schools, libraries, public safety agencies, community colleges and other government institutions.
"The Inter-County Broadband Network is proud to be working with OFS, a leader among fiber-optic products, and we appreciate their commitment to the success of the project" said Ira Levy, Howard County Chief Information Officer and Chair of the ICBN Governance Committee. "Together, OFS and the ICBN will bring affordable, accessible broadband to Central Maryland and beyond – an investment in the State of Maryland's economic future."
"We are pleased to join with key leaders of Maryland and the Inter-County Broadband Network to provide the backbone for their information highway," said Patrice Dubois, Senior Vice-President for OFS. "Using government stimulus funds to building a broadband infrastructure for growth in business, education, medicine and job creation is vital."
For the third largest stimulus-funded telecommunication project currently in the U.S., the ICBN will use OFS' AccuRibbon® DC cable with AllWave® Zero Water Peak (ZWP) fiber for the backbone construction of its planned deployment of 1,300 miles of new fiber cable and OFS' Fortex™ DT cable with AllWave® ZWP fiber for their drop connections to the tenants on the network.
About ICBN Project:
Howard County is a grant sub-recipient of the One Maryland Broadband Network (OMBN) and is responsible for managing the $72 million (of the $115 total amount granted to the State) directed to the ICBN. Once complete, this high-speed broadband network will touch every county in the State of Maryland.
The project includes laying nearly 1,300 miles of new fiber, interconnected with more than 2,400 miles of existing fiber, and is expected to produce annual cost-savings for governments of $28 million per year through reduced telephone and other equipment costs, consolidation of call centers and greater access to efficiency-producing technologies.
About OFS
OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products. Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.
OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes technology powerhouses such as AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications.
Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.
For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.
PR Contacts
Sherry Salyer
Public Relations
OFS
[email protected]
(770)798-4210
Molly Jackson
ICBN Press Relations Assistant
One Maryland: Inter-County Broadband Network
(ICBN)
[email protected]
(410)313-1165
SOURCE OFS
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