New Urban Communications Data Center Opens in Oak Forest
Nearly 90 supporters attended The Chicago Southland Fiber Network (CSFN) June 4th grand opening reception and tour of the new $3 million Urban Communications Data Center, at 5320 W. 159th St. in Oak Forest, Ill.
As a public-private partnership, Urban Communications invested nearly $3 million into the data center which is the head-end of the distribution network that provides ultra-high speed connections to the nation’s Internet backbone.
“The project here is a great example of one of the administration’s major focus which is on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs),” said Don C. Williams, from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U. S. Department of Commerce.
The complete CSFN project, (construction started in 2012) consists of 60 miles of fiber optic backbone and lateral infrastructure linking south suburban municipalities, public safety sites, community colleges, economic development fiber optic access sites, and two major Cook County anchor locations – Markham Courthouse and Oak Forest Hospital.
The fiber optic infrastructure provides backbone connectivity to communities bordering I-57 and other key sites in the corridor, establishing access to high capacity Internet services and will include access to the Illinois Century Network (ICN), which is used for education and public institutions, and dark fiber resources for both public and private entities, which is used for point to point or multi-point network and data applications.
“I’m looking forward to continued collaboration with the state and south suburbs to use this new infrastructure to advance business enterprise, healthcare and education in the region,” Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle said previously.
Managed and operated by Urban Communications, Inc. in cooperation with the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the network, initially constructed with $6.1 million in State of Illinois “Illinois Jobs Now” funds, includes $10 from Cook County, and is a state-of-the-art carrier of Ethernet fiber optic network.
The event also featured Urban Communications Chief Executive Officer Edmund Urban, Executive Director Rusty Winchel, CSFN Board Chairman, Tom Mick, and special guest Cook County Chief Information Officer, Simona Rollinson.
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