Major NC Fiber System Goes Totally Underground
12/2012
RST Global Communications, LLC (RST), based in Shelby, N.C., has completed the first phase of its Real Fiber Network, an underground, 100 percent fiber-optic network that includes backbone, middle and last mile installation.
Unique to the industry, RST’s “core-out” network is comparable to Google Fiber in Kansas City but takes it one step further. Unlike the Google infrastructure, RST’s Real Fiber Network is installed entirely underground at an average depth of 10 feet ensuring maximum security, reliability and weather protection.
“There’s simply an insatiable appetite from all types of businesses, content suppliers and consumers for increased high speed and bandwidth capacity,” stated Dan Limerick, RST Global Communications CEO. “The evolution to all fiber networks is the perfect platform for content and digital transmission going forward. Moreover, ever evolving cloud computing requires “superhighway” transport pathways from the source to the consumer which is only possible on this type of network.”
The network currently serves North Carolina’s growing Piedmont region including Charlotte, west Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland and Rutherford counties.
The Real Fiber Network provides unprecedented broadband connectivity to also serve the booming data center growth taking place in the Piedmont region, including global technology leaders like AT&T, Wipro, Google, Apple, Facebook, The Walt Disney Company and others. RST’s world-class network positions the region as a prime destination for economic development, education and ongoing technology opportunities.
“This technology is critical to our business and an extensive evaluation was performed before selecting RST for the primary fiber path to our new King’s Mountain data center,” said Robert W. Pollock, vice president of Infocrossing. “After one year, I can say RST is a true business partner and we’ve had zero problems. The company is extremely responsive, technically knowledgeable and provides a high degree of added value.”
Ongoing Expansion
RST’s next phase to expand its footprint has begun and will offer FTTP services to thousands of homes and businesses served by RST’s existing routes. Future expansion includes all-fiber installations throughout the I-85 corridor of N.C. and S.C., which encompasses more than three million potential customers. The company is also exploring partnering to launch an LTE wireless service during 2013.
RST was founded and privately funded by entrepreneurs and industry pros Dan Limerick, Doug Brown and Randy Revels; all are natives of Shelby and Cleveland County, NC, and have a personal interest in bringing state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure to a region still feeling the textile industry’s departure.
Doug Brown, chairman of the board and a 30-year cable and satellite industry veteran, said, “We believe the communities that have this technology will prosper in the future and the ones that don’t will not be able to compete. We wanted to do something for our community to help spur economic growth.”
Randy Revels, CTO, stated, “Working in the industry for over 25 years gave me tremendous insight on the problems encountered as systems were developed. While the major cable and telecommunications companies are continuously upgrading their infrastructure, their claim of fiber-optic capabilities is misleading. Often the “middle” or “last mile” segments are dramatically slower speed copper or coaxial cable; it’s not end-to-end. The cost to update these outdated legacy systems is astronomical. RST’s advantage is that we are not burdened with outdated infrastructure and can deliver an all-fiber network that’s 100 percent underground, which means maintenance requirements and outages are significantly reduced.”