MetroNet subcontractors started work in January in some neighborhoods off of Richmond Road. MetroNet must first locate gas and other utility lines before it can install fiber-optic cable. Some of those cables will be installed on utility or telephone poles. Other parts of the network will be located underground, MetroNet has said.
MetroNet subcontractors are currently working in an area from Richmond Road to North Broadway to Interstate 64 and Interstate 75. A map of the area where MetroNet is working and where they will soon work is available on the MetroNet website.
MetroNet was awarded a franchise agreement in December that requires it to provide high-speed Internet to those inside Lexington’s urban service area. Its franchise agreement allows it access to telephone poles and utility easements. Those easements are frequently in homeowners’ and businesses’ front or back yards.
The company will not dig trenches in yards, city officials said. It will conduct underground boring and dig holes to insert conduits that will contain the fiber-optic network.
Before construction begins in neighborhoods, residents will receive four different notifications from MetroNet. That includes a letter, a postcard, neighborhood signs and a small sign placed on mailboxes, said Scott Shapiro, the city’s chief innovation officer who helped spearhead efforts to bring high-speed Internet to Lexington.
In addition, the city released a video Thursday explaining the process and unveiled a new web page with frequently asked questions at www.lexingtonky.gov/gig. Residents with questions and concerns can also contact MetroNet at 1-877-386-3876.
MetroNet officials have said it’s possible it will serve its first customers later this summer or fall but have predicted the entire network will take up to three years to build. MetroNet will spend between $70 and $100 million building the network that is capable of delivering gigabit speed. Gigabit speed is equivalent to transferring data at 1,000 megabits per second. Lexington’s average Internet speed is 16.2 megabits per second, according to some studies.
“Additional construction areas throughout Lexington will be added on an ongoing basis as our build out continues,” said Keith Leonhardt, of MetroNet. “Residents within this initial construction area are able to sign up in advance for services online at www.metronetinc.com. Households that have signed up early will be the first to have services installed once their neighborhood is activated. Lexington customers can expect service activations beginning in late summer/early fall 2018.”
©2018 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
