ARE-ON Taking First Broadband Steps

The process for extending broadband Internet service to Arkansas’ 22 two-year colleges, as overseen by the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network, is under way.

ARE-ON is a consortium of four-year public universities, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and the University of Arkansas’ division of agriculture. The University of Arkansas system and UAMS were awarded a grant worth about $102 million by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in August.

ARE-ON chief technology officer David Merrifield said about $41.2 million of that will be designated for the expansion project, while UAMS will use the rest to bring better broadband service to hospitals, medical clinics and other facilities throughout the state. The latter should affect about 450 sites.

Merrifield said ARE-ON previously put in place a network that services Arkansas’ four-year colleges, with the exception of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. SAU will be included in the current project, which is designed to be completed within 36 months.

ARE-ON asked eight engineering firms to submit proposals for fiber route design specifications and the requisite environmental assessment required by the federal government. The list was trimmed to five before an official recommendation was determined.

That choice was forwarded to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees for its approval at a Nov. 12 meeting. Selection of a construction management firm, which will handle any needed fiber construction, will follow the same process and should be finalized in early December.