Arkansas Research & Education Optical Network (ARE-ON) Fiber Expansion

CDI has been contracted to construct inter-city and intra-city fiber cable routes to expand the Arkansas Research & Education Optical Network (ARE-ON) statewide.

CDI was involved in the early phases of ARE-ON fiber installations and is providing further services to expand services to unconnected schools for the purposes of research, education, telehealth, and emergency preparedness. The ARE-ON fiber optic network will be expanded to Southern Arkansas University (SAU) in Magnolia and the two-year colleges that are members of the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC). The network provides enhanced high-speed data connections linking research and educational resources. This project also provides additional resources to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Arkansas Telehealth Oversight & Management (ATOM) network by transporting data traffic from ATOM aggregation sites to UAMS.  Additional goals are to provide high-speed access to high performance computing (HPC) centers, visualization centers, National LambdaRail, Internet2, and other facilities, which will support e-learning, remote classrooms, and high definition video at all Arkansas college and university campuses.

Watch a Fiber Hut being installed in Harrison, Arkansas.  This time-lapse video compresses about 1 hour and 40 minutes of installation time at North Arkansas College.

CDI is working within government guidelines as funding was appropriated via a BroadbandUSA grant. The University of Arkansas System was awarded this grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) / Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).  CDI managers, superintendents and staff is complying with all requirements for ARRA-funded projects, including but not limited to the NOFA Round 2, the National Environmental Protection Act and related acts, the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Buy America provisions of the ARRAs as specified in the grant award.

Read more about ARE-ON here.