Archtop Fiber, which is based at iPark 87 in Kingston and plans to spend $350 million installing a fiber optic cables along a 2,500 mile network has started its installation in the City of Kingston. Archtop plans to bring high-speed internet service to up to 500,000 homes and businesses in the Hudson Valley.
Archtop plans to provide Internet speeds up to 10 Gbps (gigabits per second) and will offer the same upload and download speeds to users. Internet service providers frequently offer slower speeds for users to upload files than they provide for downloading files. A gigabit per second is one billion pieces of information carried along a cable every second.
Archtop says that its new broadband network will support more efficient streaming, numerous devices connected to a user’s Wi-Fi network, high quality video conferencing, e-commerce, and more.
Kingston’s Mayor Steve Noble said that Archtop will “empower the City of Kingston’s businesses and residents with more connectivity and tech jobs, while helping us achieve our goal to build a more sustainable community that promotes environmental stewardship.”
Noble said that transmitting via fiber optic cable rather than coaxial cable uses up to 12 times less energy.
“Archtop’s new network will enable us to significantly reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions and protect our natural resources in this area,” Noble said.
The first phase of installation in Kingston has begun with the use of 74 existing Central Hudson utility poles to carry the fiber optic cable overhead. The second phase of installation includes microtrenching, which enables cable to be buried underground without having to dig up streets and sidewalks. The process of microtrenching involves using special machinery to dig a trench measuring only one-inch wide and two feet deep where the cable can be placed and then quickly covered over. The cable is beneath the pavement but above where gas, water and sewer lines run. Microtrenching does not require road closings. Up to 1,500 feet of fiber optic lines can be placed by a crew each day using the microtrenching technique.
A couple of weeks ago, Archtop demonstrated microtrenching to representatives from Sullivan County. Archtop and Sullivan County have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together so Archtop can install its fiber network and begin service in the county next year.
Sullivan County Legislature Vice Chair Mike Brooks, County Manager Josh Potosek and other county representatives traveled to Saugerties where Archtop has been using microtrenching.
“Having made my living in the cable and telecommunications industries for decades, I was eager to see how this innovative and efficient way to lay cable underground actually works,” said Brooks. “I’m excited about the possibilities this poses for Archtop’s plans in Sullivan.”
Archtop plans to install 250 miles of fiber in Saugerties.
“As the demand for faster and more reliable Internet access skyrockets across our community, it is critical we develop the advanced and expanded broadband infrastructure needed to power everyday life here in Saugerties,” said Saugerties’ Mayor Bill Murphy. “Archtop Fiber is the ideal partner to ensure our thriving city keeps up with the pace of technology. Their local approach and focus assures that Saugerties is well positioned with best-in-class broadband now and well into the future.”
Shawn Beqaj, chief development officer for Archtop explained, “With utility pole infrastructure in the region causing extraordinary delays and increases in cost, Archtop is always seeking out the latest, most efficient methods to deploy fiber across the Hudson Valley. Our use of very narrow underground trenches allows us to deploy faster with less impact on our neighborhoods.”
Archtop reported that it had more than 7,000,000 feet of fiber on hand at its storage yard in Kingston. It had acquired the Hancock Telephone Company in Hancock, New York and the GTel phone company based in Germantown. Archtop was awaiting regulatory approval to close on its purchase of the Warwick Valley Telephone Company based in Orange County.
Archtop plans its fiber network rollout to expand in the Town of Ulster along with Hurley, the Town of Esopus, Lake Katrine, Catskill, Hudson, Stockport, Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Tivoli and Woodstock. It expects to add many more communities in the future.
In addition to internet and telephone service, Archtop is promoting the availability of video streaming on its fiber network. It says that its fiber network will offer all of the speed that’s needed for streaming video services and allow people to cancel their cable TV service.
Archtop was formed in partnership with Post Road Group, a digital infrastructure and real estate investment platform. Post Road Group is a private investment firm specializing in telecommunications, business services and real estate.
“I’m a serial entrepreneur with a history and passion for undertaking things others won’t and doing so with a deep compassion for communities often overlooked by the telecom establishment,” said Jeff DeMond, chairman and CEO of Archtop. “Archtop will be the long-awaited ‘shot in the arm’ – not just as the best broadband Internet service provider for homes and local businesses, but as a true community member and partner. We have always been an invested creator of jobs, a catalyst for economic growth and a corporate partner with a passion for ‘leaning in’ wherever needed.”
