We reported on Dunellon, Florida, last year – time for a refresher and an update.
You may recall that Dunnellon is a small community with only about 1,900 people in 2004, located in the north central part of the state. The City of Dunnellon watched as surrounding communities gained jobs and people, while its phosphate mining industry limped along.
Dunnellon decided to invest in its own fiber network to spur economic development and provide the services Comcast and AT&T considered unprofitable in the rural area. The town secured financing through a traditional bank loan in 2010. Dunnellon’s biggest challenge was building a network from scratch, but the town now has over 100 miles of installed fiber in Marion County. The service, Greenlight Dunnellon Communications, offers triple play at great rates.
From an article on the Communications Technology website:
The potential to improve the local economy through Dunnellon’s high-speed fiber network also is evident. Several neighboring counties, the local Marion County school district and numerous businesses are in the process of finalizing contracts to secure high-speed connectivity through the city’s network and to leverage such benefits as disaster recovery and failover. The city also believes area healthcare providers will benefit from the ability to connect directly to nearby facilities.
According to [Eddie] Esch, [the City of Dunnellon’s director/Public Services and Utilities] “As we progress in this project, we have uncovered so many exciting and promising new opportunities that it’s like watching the bubbles in a glass of 7-Up percolate to the top!”