Wyoming’s State Broadband Gets Huge Speed Boost

For the state of Wyoming, high-speed broadband Internet access is more than a matter of convenience.

“This is part of the governor’s initiative to increase quality of life,” said the state’s CIO, Flint Waters. “We want to diversify our economy. In order to continue to expand the workforce and keep Wyoming students in the state, we have to increase broadband capacity.”

With access points located in eight communities and anchored at schools or state offices, the network will create more redundancy and reliability. Gov Mead’s (R-WY) proposal is intended to enhance private investment in broadband infrastructure without fear of the state as competition.

The state signed master service agreements with all statewide Internet Service Providers (ISP) interested in being a part of the network. Advanced Communications Technology (ACT), a company based in the state, was awarded two of the 100-gigabit backbone links.

CenturyLink, a national ISP, was awarded six of the 100-gigabit backbone lines. The $15.8 million initiative, projected to finish by Aug 30, 2015, is mostly backed by the state’s general fund with some education funding where the network is linked to school traffic.