Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and officials from the District’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) announced that the first link in the D.C. government’s new high speed fiber network called D.C Community Access Network (D.C-CAN) is now live. The network link is operating with 100-gigabit-per-second (100G) service which means that the ultra-high-speed link enables last mile service providers who provide internet access to end users can take immediate advantage of low-cost services via DC-CAN.
DC-CAN the first city owned 100G network in the country was funded through an NTIA infrastructure grant as part of ARRA. The network was made possible by using Baltimore-based Ciena’s 100G technologies.
“With this 100G connection, we are making history by providing state-of-the-art network capacity that will serve the District’s economic growth well into the 21st century”, said Mayor Gray.
This network milestone makes the District the first city in the nation to build a network that is 10 times faster than typical service-provider networks available today. The network’s capacity surpasses that of other municipal networks in the country, including those in California’s Silicon Valley and other major tech hubs.
DC-CAN is positioned to deliver cost-effective “middle-mile” services at ultra-high capacity to government entities and private-sector internet service providers well into the future.
“As internet use moves toward video and other data-intensive applications, this network is well positioned to support such next-generation apps without the need for further infrastructure upgrades for at least a decade,” said D.C Chief Technology Officer Rob Mancini.
The link is bringing affordable high-speed broadband services to residents and businesses in the underserved areas of the District with adoption rates of less than 40 percent. These areas include 24 community anchor institutions such as healthcare, education, and public safety facilities where DC-CAN connectivity is operational. The 100G backbone links are expected to be complete in Wards 5, 7, and 8 within the next six months and will extend to every ward in the district by June 2013.
