Ting Internet turns up first fiber customers in Alexandria, VA

Tucows’ Ting Internet has launched fiber service in select neighborhoods across Alexandria (VA), which the company said is now Ting’s largest market to date. Plans to construct the network were announced in spring 2022, with Tucows CEO Elliot Noss then noting Alexandria has over 90,000 serviceable addresses. Ting began construction in September 2022 and has broken down the project into five major areas. The operator has started fiber installations in Alexandria’s North East neighborhood and will build in further parts of the city, eventually finishing installations in Old Town. Ting anticipates full municipal access to the network will be available by 2025. Alexandria residents will be able to sign up for Ting’s symmetrical 1-gig fiber for $89 per month. Additionally, Ting has struck an agreement with the City of Alexandria to provide free internet to 4,000 affordable housing units qualified for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Ting is using micro-trenching to build out the network. Micro-trenching is a technique in which cable is laid inside a narrow trench (roughly 1 to 3 inches wide and 6 to 24 inches deep), located in roadways and other rights-of-way. Ting has claimed that micro-trenching is faster than traditional underground construction and that it’s less disruptive to traffic and access to the property.