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EDA broadband update: active passings rise to 1,347 and fiber miles exceed 90 as crews finish railroad crossings
Summary
Staff reported growth in active fiber passings and completed infrastructure work: active passings rose from 596 to 1,347 in one program area, OLT deployment expanded, railroad crossing work has finished on seven of eight crossings for the 2021 area, Gigabeam has laid over 90 miles of fiber and ABCO has completed 8.54 miles of loop infrastructure.
Montgomery County Economic Development Authority staff updated the board on broadband construction progress across several build areas, reporting a substantial increase in active passings and continued work on critical railroad crossings.
Staff said that in the 2020–21 build area (referred to as "batty 2021" in the presentation) OLTs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 are currently active. When staff last reported, only OLTs 3, 5 and 6 were active and there were 596 active passings; the count now stands at 1,347 active passings.
An OLT is an optical line terminal that serves a group of customers from a fiber cabinet; staff explained an OLT cabinet can serve roughly 256–350 passings depending on configuration. Staff also said seven of eight railroad crossings impacting the 2021 area have been completed, and when the final crossing is finished the remaining passings in OLT 8 and OLT 9 will be turned up for service.
Gigabeam has placed over 90 miles of fiber across the county, staff reported, up from over 60 miles at the last update. ABCO has completed 8.54 miles of loop infrastructure and plans to add crews to accelerate work on the 2022 build area, though inclement weather has slowed progress. Staff noted that the same crews working on broadband construction are also being used for storm reconstruction where lines were down, which affects scheduling.
Why it matters: the changes will allow additional customers to receive service as cabinets are activated and railroad-crossing work completes, advancing the county’s broadband expansion program.
Staff recommended continued coordination with utility partners and said they will report back as remaining crossings and OLT activations are completed.
