Syringa Gives Slow Idaho Internet A Swift Kick

After receiving the dubious distinction as being the U.S. city with the slowest Internet speeds, businesses in Pocatello, Idaho, can look forward to a high-speed solution next spring.

Syringa Networks, a regional provider of high-speed fiber-optic telecom services founded in 2002 by 12 rural telecom companies, says it recently completed a new central office (CO) and co-location space in Pocatello and is finishing connections to the new facility with fiber-optic service from its existing 400 Gigabit (Gb) backbone network. In addition, construction begins this fall on a 41-mile, high-count fiber ring in Pocatello and the surrounding areas. This multi-million-dollar project has been awarded to a contractor, and permitting is in progress.??Once complete, Pocatello businesses will have access to a self-healing fiber-optic network that reportedly will be able to deliver speeds as fast as 10 Gbs per customer.

As a result, Syringa promises Pocatello businesses will have access to the most extensive MPLS network in the state.??"This investment echoes the investment in infrastructure we recently completed in Idaho Falls," says Syringa CEO Greg Lowe. "We’re excited to serve Pocatello, and we’re serious about giving businesses the best Internet and high speed network options. Our?ongoing investment in Idaho communities is a direct reflection of our core values –creating growth and opportunity for the communities we serve."

In separate but related news, a pioneering new broadband wireless technology now is on display in Baltimore, reportedly providing more than 50 Mbps downstream and more than 3 Mbps upstream capabilities. 

Go Long Wireless launched the Baltimore MVDDS pilot to demonstrate how this new "wireless FTTH" broadband option can bring both a next-generation triple-play bundle to consumers and robust, mission-critical broadband connectivity to the SMB and enterprise communities.

MVDDS is a fixed wireless broadband technology that uses 500 megahertz of protected licensed spectrum in the 12.2 GHz -12.7 GHz band, capable of delivering high-speed broadband, HD video and voice services. The Go Long Wireless Baltimore pilot uses a transmission antenna at the World Trade Center in downtown Baltimore and a receive antenna at the Emerging Technology Center in the Canton area.

"MVDDS is about broadband options. With this new wireless approach to broadband, we’re demonstrating how communities all over the country can introduce broadband competition, bring broadband to the unserved and underserved, and significantly reduce the cost of broadband facilities construction," says Bruce Fox, CEO of Go Long Wireless. "We’re bringing an unrivaled wireless broadband pipe, Hyper Broadband, into the home or business, on par with what any wireline broadband technology can do, at a fraction of the typical wireline deployment cost."

The pilot is available for demonstration. Interested parties should email [email protected] or call 941/586-8512.