The City of Rockford, Illinois has been the latest city to grant SiFi Networks access to its rights of way, to enable the construction of a state-of-the-art citywide fiber optic network.

SiFi Networks will fund, build and operate the 100% fiber network which will allow service providers to join to provide super-fast connectivity.

The network will be constructed through every street in the city passing every home and business, and once built residents and businesses will have the opportunity to access the fastest internet services around. It will also enable the City to utilize the network to access Smart City applications to help meet their long-term objectives.

“This private $200 million investment in our City is a true game changer bringing stronger, faster, fiber optic network to our community,” says Mayor Tom McNamara.

“This agreement also has the potential to help us fulfill our goal of bridging the digital divide which was illuminated as we have fought the pandemic and worked to attract more high-tech businesses to our community.”

A fiber network can bring a whole host of benefits to any city whether that be economic development and job creation to traffic management through Smart City applications.

“We are delighted to make Rockford a FiberCity®. The world class network infrastructure will not only deliver high speed internet, but it could also form the backbone from which economic development, quality of life and efficiencies can be improved upon, it’s an exciting time for Rockford.” commented Scott Bradshaw, President at SiFi Networks.

SiFi Networks will now work to assess demand for services and complete the network design of the city.