TCLPfiber Network

About the city. In recent years, Traverse City leaders, along with representatives of the residential and business communities, have realized that access to low-cost high-speed broadband is an important service that provides telehealth, training, economic development, education, and municipal efficiency; attracts innovation and talent; and provides greater and faster connectivity.

Goal

The aim of the project is to provide residents with the ultra-fast broadened Internet service and to put Traverse City at the forefront of becoming a tech hub and a smart city in Northern Michigan.

Implementation period. The project’s implementation started in 2020.

Fact

87,8%of Traverse City households have computers and 80,2% of households have broadband Internet subscription (2014-2018 statistics).

Solutions

The company launched its new TCLPfiber broadband network, which initially provides ultra-fast Internet and digital voice services to 1,900 of its 12,700 residential and commercial customers located in downtown Traverse City.

The new network consists entirely of fibre and does not use coaxial or copper cable, or satellite technologies to provide services.

The idea for the utility company to build its own network was hatched several years ago, growing out of a $ 1.8 million partnership that TCL&P entered into with Traverse City Area Public Schools in 2008 to build a “dark fibre” network in the city (unused optical fibre that was laid).

In June 2019, the TCL&P’s Board agreed to execute a construction and operation agreement with Fujitsu for phase one of the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) project.

Challenges

There were months of delay, a pandemic-forced project pause, and an $800,000 loan from the City of Traverse City. Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP) has officially soft-launched its TCLPfiber network in September 2020.

Team

Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP), Fujitsu Network Communications

Timeline

Tim Arends, executive director, TCL&P, says: “The result is reliable video-streaming, video-conferencing, and extremely fast uploading and downloading of large files.”

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