Surf Broadband Solutions is expanding their gigabit fiber Internet service to Westville, Ind. The team held a groundbreaking event to celebrate on Friday, April 15 at Prairie Meadow Park as they announced their next project for the town.
The company has been providing radio powered internet service in Westville since 2003. With Surf Broadband's introduction of fiber internet, they will be providing even faster and more reliable Internet service, which will enhance the quality of life in La Porte County.
“I was actually the first guy that climbed up the water tower over there and mounted radio equipment up top,” said Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Patrick Wheeland.
The project will be broken up into 15 phases to help expand upon the town’s Internet health. With the Internet now being such a vital part of everyone’s daily life, having that quality connection and speed is prominent in any situation.
“Internet today is what's really essential to almost everything we do, and it's amazing just how integrated it has become in our lives, to the point that we don't even realize how much we're using it until it doesn't work. It's just like power where you don't realize just how much you use it until it’s out,” Wheeland said.
He explained that in the beginning, the Internet was always built on a fiber backbone, and over the years they’ve been working to get that fiber closer and closer to the end-user. Now, thanks to the technology we have today, Surf Broadband is able to bring that connection right into the customer’s home.
“It's a huge quantum leap ahead compared to what we could do before,” Wheeland said. “So radio equipment, like that first radio equipment I put up on the water tower over there, was capable of about 10 megabits per second on a good day. And today we are delivering 1000 megabits per second to the customer's home, and we'll be able to deliver 10 gigabits per second in the near future and beyond that.”
Surf Broadband also presented a special gift to Westville Town Hall President Michael “Mike” Albert to show their appreciation for his involvement with the project. Albert was given a commemorative plaque in the shape of a glass pyramid made by Surf’s CEO Gene Cruise, with a piece of fiber sparkling in the center. The fiber itself is glass and is surrounded by plastic coatings.
Wheeland and the Surf Broadband community are ecstatic to get this project moving, which will officially begin in a couple of weeks. Phase one will start in early May as the town has provided the necessary permits to begin construction. All other phases will take place in stages over the course of the construction, and the project is looking to be completed by the end of this year. By then, around 1,000 plus Westville properties will have access to Surf’s fiber optic services and will be well on their way to having a better Internet connection.
“We’re proud to continue delivering service throughout La Porte County and especially to the town of Westville,” Wheeland said.
To learn more about Surf Broadband Solutions, please visit surfbroadband.com.
