Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative
Location: USA
Abstract:
MBC is a not-for-profit cooperative created in 2003 with the aim of boosting the regional economy of Southside Virginia state. The organization currently plans to build out over 700 miles of new fiber optic infrastructure among rural communities, utilizing a pre-exisiting backhaul trunk that runs from Atlanta to Washington DC via Richmond. The program was initally funded by a six million dollar grant from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, and a matching grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. These funds allowed for the construction of the first 300 miles of fiber. The Virginia Tobacco Commission has provided another 28 million in funding that will allow for the extension of the network to twenty counties and over sixty business, technology, and industrial clusters. 
MBC's is an advanced, carrier-class SONET/SDH network which uses Nortel's Optical Multi-service Edge 6500 platform with OC-192 and OC-48 rings, and also uses an Infinera Digital Transport Network DWDM system on the long haul. On this infrastructure MBC can provide a number of vital services, including Sonet/TDM serviced, METRO Ethernet and IP, long haul optical transport, dark fiber and tower leasing, collocation hosting, and will work with organizations requiring further build-out from the MBC skeleton. On March 17 2007, the organization was given a Dewberry Award of Excellence in the quality of life category. Jurors stated that the project “has an obvious immediate impact on people’s lives.” They also stated that the project provides “a generational impact” and “increases possibilities for this region that never would have existed before.” On June 21 2007, MBC announced it will provide one million dollars in support of five rural last mile broadband projects in the region, which will eventually connect over 7000 homes and businesses to the network.
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Website: http://www.mbc-va.com/index.php
Practitioner Name: Tad Deriso
Practitioner Tel: (434) 483-4303
Practitioner E-mail: tad@mbc-va.com
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Vendor Name 1: NOR
Vendor Title 1: Nortel Networks
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