November 2015 Map of the Month: Commercial Fiber Service Availability

Pete CodellaBroadband

Commercial fiber utahThe November 2015 Map of the Month shows, at a statewide scale, the current commercial fiber-based broadband service availability reported to the Broadband Outreach Center for inclusion on the locate.utah.gov site.

The Utah Economic Development Map (locate.utah.gov), which was released in May, features the availability of fiber broadband service together with other considerations attractive to relocating businesses such as utility, transportation, education, and recreation resources.

The fiber broadband service on this interactive web map is portrayed using 1 km hexagons (diameter), according to two general categories of service:

  • Short Order Fiber Service Availability (typically within 30 days), and
  • Custom Order Fiber Service (typically within 9 months).

‘Short Order’ indicates that a fiber node is likely already available from which to extend a last mile connection. ‘Custom Order’ indicates that fiber is nearby but adding a last mile connection may be more involved, due to factors including the addition of a node in an existing transport line.

This month’s map includes updated areas submitted by providers as part of the BOC’s September 2015 data collection. Providers can report service in a number of ways to the BOC, including everything from editing their fiber footprint in a simple web editing application to sending in a hand-marked pdf or paper map.