The people of Holland voted to make a community investment in a high-speed fiber optic broadband network that will be available to every address in the city.
Holland BPW will build and manage the broadband infrastructure, adding to the backbone fiber network that started 30 years ago.
A new project milestone was accomplished at Holland BPW’s May 22, 2023 board meeting. The board voted to award a design build contract to EX2 Technology for the citywide fiber network construction. This is exciting news that moves the project forward.
The next step is to lean on the expertise of EX2 to engineer a final design of the passing network while maximizing the efficiency of our existing resources. The result will be a design of the network that identifies the various zones that will be constructed throughout the City of Holland. City of Holland residents will be able to sign up for early notifications to know when their local zone is scheduled to be built.
Construction begins this fall. The first service node is expected to go live by the summer of 2024. The entire network is expected to take about two to three years to build.
For more information visit hollandcityfiber.com.
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eX² Technology Partners with Holland Board of Public Works
to Make High-Speed Connectivity a Reality for Every Holland, MI Residence
eX² Technology, a Vivacity company and a single source solution for those seeking to build, scale or upgrade their communications infrastructure, announces today its partnership with Holland Board of Public Works (Holland BPW) to design and construct a 195-mile Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) network infrastructure that will ultimately enable every City of Holland, Michigan residence access to ubiquitous, reliable and affordable high-speed internet.
Established as a community-owned utility in 1893, Holland BPW has owned and operated a fiber network in West Michigan for 30 years. Last August, the residents of Holland voted to make a community investment in a high-speed fiber broadband network that will be available to every address in the city. A bond supported by a millage will fund the passing network.
“We’ve heard from residents for many years requesting access to a community-owned broadband network, and we’re thrilled to be able to make this a reality,” said Ted Siler, Utility Services Director at Holland BPW. “This investment, supported by a millage, means that everyone in the City of Holland will have access to high-speed internet for remote work, healthcare, entertainment, education and more, improving the quality of life for our community – now and into the future.”
Interconnecting with Holland BPW’s existing 260-mile fiber infrastructure, the new FTTP network will meet current and future broadband demands. Holland BPW will offer 1 gigabit of symmetrical service where previously only 22 percent of Holland had access to gigabit download speeds. Additionally, the network will support any variety of industry-standard FTTP last-mile access technologies, including Active Ethernet and Passive Optical Networks.
Holland BPW awarded eX² Technology a $15.9M contract to design and build the FTTP network following a formal Request for Proposal process earlier this year.
“We chose eX² as our design-build partner based on best value, its extensive and successful history executing fiber design and construction management services and its strong partnership approach,” said Siler.
eX² Technology has been actively working in the Fiber-to-the-Home/FTTP industry since 2016 and employs lead team members who have designed these networks since 2006. Broadband Communities Magazine previously recognized the firm as one of its top 100 FTTH companies.
“With our experience overseeing numerous FTTP network projects, we can ensure that Holland BPW will receive the level of service it’s seeking in a design, construction and material management partner,” said Jay Jorgensen, Chief Operating Officer, eX² Technology. “We’re excited to commence construction on a network that will ultimately deliver future-ready broadband services to Holland.”
Construction on the fiber infrastructure will begin this fall, with final completion scheduled for 2026. Construction will take place in phases, with services activated upon completion of each phase. For more information, visit https://hollandcityfiber.com/.