Etheric Technology Update – June 2022
Fiber Backbone Update
Etheric Networks is in the process of rolling out network services, utilizing our dark fiber backbone. We are putting into place a next generation 100 Gbps high- performance backbone, maintaining latencies very close to the speed of light. Whether you are in Salinas, Watsonville, or Pleasanton, we aim to get you a less than 2 milliseconds connection over our backbone to popular providers such as Google, Facebook, Netflix and many more, as well as our top-tier internet peering points.
The rollout of our Fiber Ring from San Francisco, San Rafael, and Oakland down to Santa Cruz Salinas and Soledad is coming online now. Things are taking slightly longer than we had hoped with the main ring fully coming online in June 2022, and the southern elements occurring in Q3.
REGIONAL NEWS
Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Over the next 3 months, we are deploying next-generation 100 Mbps and gigabit services, using licensed band microwave and millimeter-wave as well as the open-access spectrum elements. Our first wave will be on our existing network in the Morgan Hill to San Juan Bautista corridor and the greater Watsonville area, followed by our expansion into the greater Salinas area. We will be reaching out to our subscribers to discuss upgrading to our higher capacity systems as they become available. If you are in San Benito county, please visit our new web portal for the latest news on San Juan Bautista, which will be finished in July!
Mount Madonna
In spite of delays caused by supply chain issues, we are on track to go live with the long-awaited 100+ megabit download service from Mount Madonna this summer! Stay tuned for more news on this, and thanks for your patience as we complete this major upgrade.
Silicon Valley
In June 2022, we are adding two systems to provide higher capacity 100-200 Megabit service to customers in the Silicon Valley area.
San Mateo
Etheric brought gigabit fixed wireless to downtown San Mateo in March! This technology supports greater-than-gigabit speeds for customers with high-performance requirements.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
Major Bay Area City: Citywide Wi-Fi, gigabit fiber and fixed wireless to the home
Etheric is working with a major Bay Area city on a project to provide both gigabit fixed wireless and fiber to the building. We cannot reveal which City yet, but we look forward to announcing this in Q3 and helping them become the smartest Smart City in the West!
Federal FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)
Etheric is awaiting a decision from the California Public Utilities Commission on the status of our ETC designation. This is the final step for our $248 million support to build out gigabit services to underserved communities in 23 California counties. If you or someone you know lives in one of our awarded areas, writing a letter to the PUC or phoning in during the public comments portion of their public meetings to make your voice heard is always an option!
Other Accomplishments
Etheric has continued to upgrade many of its licensed microwave backbone links – and is in the process of bringing fiber to its Loma Prieta Tower. These changes improve not only performance but the reliability of Etheric’s network.
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