NEW BRITAIN, CT (June 22, 2022) – GoNetspeed has been selected by the City of New Britain to build a high-speed fiber Internet network throughout the city. This will be the largest fiber optic public-private project in the state. The $5 million project was made possible by American Rescue Plan Act Funds and not from city tax dollars.
The City approved the partnership with GoNetspeed at the June 8, 2022 meeting of the New Britain Common Council which will connect all city assets on a private fiber network and will offer reliable high-speed fiber Internet. This public-private partnership is going to benefit the city by introducing a third Internet provider into the market.
GoNetspeed offers a free router for customers and plans start a $39.99 a month. GoNetspeed also participates in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which provides eligible households a maximum of $30 per month toward service.
“We are thrilled to be the first community in the state to partner with GoNetspeed, in a public-private partnership, to effectively end the digital divide, increase ISP competition, and lower Internet costs for our residents,” said the Honorable Erin E. Stewart, Mayor of New Britain. “Furthermore, we are excited to bring this opportunity to every home in our City.” Mayor Stewart hosted a press conference to announce this partnership on June 22, 2022.
The project will begin in January 2023 and is expected to last six months. Once complete, 128 of New Britain’s City buildings and cameras will be wired with fiber Internet service and a network will be built throughout the community giving residents the opportunity to access high-speed internet. In total, 175 miles of fiber will span the city.
“This partnership with the City of New Britain will not only create future innovation and access to fast, reliable Internet, it also brings more competition by having multiple broadband options for residential and business customers,” said Tom Perrone, GoNetspeed’s Chief Operating Officer. “Whether we are providing first-time fiber access to a customer or providing residents with a choice of Internet service providers, the residents win. We are honored to have been chosen to build this network for New Britain.”
GoNetspeed is an independent, privately held company with a mission and focus on customer support as well as superior services with local construction teams, installers, technicians, and sales team in Connecticut. The company offers 24x7x365 support with a Network Operations Center and dedicated Customer Relationship Managers who support customers from service order, through installation, and beyond.
“Fiber optics provides unlimited scalability. The network we are creating is ‘future proof’ meaning as the needs for speed increases and technology continues to advance, we can adjust and scale to the need,” said Jon Delgadillo, City of New Britain’s Manager of Facilities & Energy.
To learn more about GoNetspeed and express interest in service, visit www.GoNetspeed.com.
What is fiber Internet?
High-Speed Fiber Internet is different than cable or DSL. Fiber offers symmetrical speeds, meaning that both download and upload are equally fast. The connectivity challenges that people experience with using video conferencing associated with telecommuting, online learning, and telemedicine have emphasized the importance of fast upload speeds. Speeds are not throttled so customers will not experience times when the service lags due to Internet traffic on the entire network at certain times of day. GoNetspeed offers the fastest residential Internet speeds available, ranging from 150 Mbps to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). For businesses, GoNetspeed can customize speeds beyond Gigabit capability if necessary.
About GoNetspeed
GoNetspeed, a fiber-to-the-premises Internet Service Provider (ISP), originally serving residential and business customers in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, announced in January 2021 that it has formed a new partnership with Oak Hill Capital (“Oak Hill”) which will allow GoNetspeed to accelerate the expansion of its fiber network throughout the Northeastern U.S. by investing $175 to $200 million to expand by about 2,000 more miles of fiber. This expansion will allow GoNetspeed to bring fiber to about 200,000 more homes across its footprint, which currently includes portions of 8 states: Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Alabama.
GoNetspeed, a name with strong recognition where communities have already benefited from its investments in fiber technology and exceptional customer service, fulfills Oak Hill’s vision to bring together over 100 years of telecom expertise and a passion for customer service to accelerate fiber network deployment throughout their combined footprint.
To date, GoNetspeed serves 56,000 customers and employs a total of 525 individuals in the states it serves. For more information on the company, or to inquire about service in your residence or community, please visit www.gonetspeed.com.
Affordable Connectively Program (ACP)
If a household member participates in one of the following government programs, the household may qualify for the ACP: Lifeline, SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, FPHA, Veterans Pension, Survivors Pension, free and reduced price lunch program, school breakfast program, current Federal Pell Grant, WIC, attends a school that participates in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), or the household income falls below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. More details about eligibility and enrollment applications are available at www.fcc.gov/acp.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ashley Gustafson
585.313.9794 | ashley.gustafson@gonetspeed.com
Cynthia Pacia
585.310.2864 | cynthia.pacia@gonetspeed.com