Fast growing regional operator MetroNet said today that it will build an all-fiber gigabit network in the city of O’Fallon, its first Missouri market. Construction is slated to begin next year, with customers coming online as neighborhoods are completed.
The Evanston, IL-based operator – which will hire local market management, sales and customer service personnel in O’Fallon – will face multiple competitors, according to the BroadbandNow website. Both Charter Spectrum and CenturyLink are listed as providing gigabit-capable service in O’Fallon.
“Our future-proofed network has proven valuable to the cities we partner with, and we are proud to bring that opportunity to Missouri through this partnership with O’Fallon,” MetroNet CEO John Cinelli said in a press release. “Cities are faced with a variety of choices when trying to bridge the digital divide. MetroNet builds an impressive technical infrastructure without the use of public funds, which helps cities enormously. We are proud to have quickly become the nation’s largest and fastest growing, independently owned fiber-optic provider.”
MetroNet is an aggressive overbuilder, providing symmetrical fiber broadband services of up to 10G without long-term contracts. The company says it’s network will soon be available to more than one million residential households and business locations across all of its markets.
MetroNet is busy beyond Missouri. Last month, the overbuilder said it would invest as much as $15 million in a network in Beavercreek, OH, its 11th project in the state. The city is in the Miami Valley area of the state and is home to almost 50,000 people. MetroNet also recently expanded its reach in Iowa and Texas.
In addition to fiber-based broadband, MetroNet offers phone and TV services. MetroNet service locations outside of Missouri and Ohio include markets in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and Wisconsin. In all, it is active in more than 120 communities
