Zayo to supply backbone fiber for Gigabit Squared in Chicago

Fiber-optic network services provider Zayo Group says they have partnered with Gigabit Squared, which is building broadband access networks across the U.S., to help deploy gigabit fiber and wireless services in Chicago’s Mid-South Side.

Zayo will offer fiber-optic cable as a backbone for the Gigabit Chicago project. The project is part of Gigabit Squared’s efforts in the state. As a recipient of an Illinois Gigabit Communities Challenge award, Gigabit Squared is using $2 million from the state to help support locally its national Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program (GNGP). The GNGP aims to help create jobs, improve neighborhood safety, enhance education, and improve health care services.

In Chicago, Gigabit Squared and Zayo will develop a fiber infrastructure to support the provision of gigabit Internet connectivity. Zayo will provide dark fiber, colocation, IP transit, wavelength, and other infrastructure services.

“Chicago is the first community of development and Zayo will work with Gigabit Squared to enable other communities in the future,” says Matt Erickson, president of fiber and infrastructure at Zayo Group. “We will be leveraging the reach of our metro Chicago fiber network to enable the Gigabit Chicago project.”

“Building a gigabit community in a cost-effective manner requires a lot of collaboration, leveraging existing assets and services, as well as the right partners to help make the dream a reality,” explained Mark Ansboury, president of Gigabit Squared.

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