Fibertech Networks receives $1M state grant to boost internet speeds in Sussex Co.

This afternoon, Gov. Jack Markell announced fiber-optic provider Fibertech Networks has been granted $1 million to expand and improve internet connectivity in southern Delaware.
The Rochester, N.Y.-based company (which, just this week, was acquired by Boxbourough, Mass.-based fiber-optic company Lightower Fiber Networks) will lay 18 miles of new network to Seaford and another 18 miles east to Lewes. Those lines will connect in Georgetown and supplement pre-existing Fibertech infrastructure running north through Kent and New Castle Counties. The company already has 300 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Delaware.
The $1 million grant (formerly reported as $2 million) is provided by the Department of Technology and Information’s Delaware Broadband Fund, created in 2013.
“This Delaware Broadband Fund grant is critical in creating opportunity and incentives for private vendors, Internet Service Providers, to do what they do best, bring direct services to schools, homes and farms, and to community and governmental centers,” said state CIO James Collins.
What does this broadband initiative mean for Delawareans in Sussex County? Blazing internet speeds of up to 10GB — though the state expects most residents will opt for more affordable speeds between 10MB and 100MB.
“This project will facilitate building a transparent and agile infrastructure for state and local government that at the same time enhances modern commerce and increase regional competitiveness for businesses and underserved sectors,” said Mike Hurley, Fibertech’s SVP of Sales and Marketing.