Metronet says that it will deploy an all-fiber network to Bartlett, Illinois, and that the new network will provide symmetrical service up to 5 Gbps to residential customers and symmetrical service of up to 10 Gbps to businesses.
Metronet said that the private investment would be “tens of millions of dollars,” but offered no specifics.
“Our priority is serving communities like Bartlett with the fastest, most reliable internet,” Metronet Vice President of New Market Development Ben Ruzick said in the announcement of the 5 Gbps offering. “We are excited to strengthen our relationship with the Village Council as we expand our Illinois footprint.”
The service provider offers service in more than 300 other communities across 19 states. In Illinois, it offers services in more than 40 communities, including Bloomington-Normal, Dekalb, Geneva, Oswego, and Plainfield.
This is Metronet’s second recent announcement concerning Illinois. Last month, the service provider said it would build a network in Bolingbrook. As in Bartlett, the system will provide symmetrical 5 Gbps for residential customers and twice that for businesses. The press release says that the network will begin serving its first customers by late summer.
Metronet is aggressively expanding. In late April, the service provider announced a privately financed expansion in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The company said at the time that it was active in more than 40 communities, including Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Portage.
Of course, Metronet is not alone in offering symmetrical 5 Gbps service. Last June, for instance, Astound Broadband and Astound Business Solutions launched Astound 5 Gig. Initial markets for the service included portions of Maryland, Illinois, Texas, New York City, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, and California.
