DFT Announces $200K Fiber-Optic Network Expansion

JAMESTOWN, NY - Businesses on Jamestown’s East Side and in the village of Falconer will soon be able to take advantage of new data and voice services offered by DFT Communications as it expands its fiber-optic network in the area. Through a licensed agreement with the Jamestown’s Board of Public Utilities and Windstream Communications, the fiber build will cover the areas from Falconer Central School on East Main Street to Buffalo, Tiffany, Hopkins, Allen and on to East Fifth and Second Streets in the city of Jamestown.

According to Vice President of Operations, David Pihl, DFT Communications is building 7.2 miles of new fiber optic cable and supported infrastructure in the area at an approximate cost of $200,000, with plans to begin turning up customers by the end of May.

Symmetrical Service
DFT officials say the expanded service will increase savings for customers using multiple phone lines and allow faster Internet speeds with “symmetrical” service, which uses equal upload and download speeds of up to 1 Gbps, in contrast to typical DSL service, which has slower upload speeds. “DFT is a competitive carrier that is bringing competitive voice and data services to the area,” says Pihl. “We know that we can compete and save business customers money; we have a track record of doing that.”

Ability to Scale Up
According to Pihl, another benefit to fiber-based services is scale – as a business, or its phone or Internet usage grows – the service can easily grow as well. As an example, if a business is currently utilizing a 5 Mbps upload and download speed connection, it can easily be scaled to a 100 Mbps circuit with a simple program change.

In addition, Pihl said DFT Communications is also building a redundant fiber-optic network from Jamestown to Cassadaga, slated for completion by the end of the summer. The network will provide geographic diversity by utilizing multiple fiber cables from Fredonia to Cassadaga and Jamestown.