South Suburban College joins Southland partners in announcing phase two of broadband initiative in Monee

MONEE, IL (June 27, 2013) – South Suburban College (SSC) participated in a press conference to announce the beginning of the second phase of fiber optic cable installation in the Chicago Southland.

Building from the fiber cable constructed along I-57 during the first phase, the project will link schools, libraries, municipalities, public safety locations, businesses, and many other facilities with high capacity optical cabling that will enable Southland communities to provide services and applications that will improve the overall communications capabilities of the entire region.  This phase of the construction is kicking-off at the Village of Monee, linking the I-57 fiber with the Monee Municipal Building.  The fiber cable will enable higher capacity data and Internet connections to Monee municipal locations and provide immediate connections for public safety, education, and economic development opportunities.

“Our community gets an immediate benefit,” said Monee Village President Jay Farquhar.  “Our public safety departments will be using fiber-enabled monitoring and operational support applications, and our teachers will no longer be limited by bandwidth, soon having the ability to provide high quality video and educational resources in the classroom.”

The South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA), in partnership with the Cook County Bureau of Technology, received a $6.1 million grant from the State of Illinois’ “Jobs First” capital grant funding program to build the fiber network.  Governor Pat Quinn and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle first announced the infrastructure funding at SSC’s South Holland campus back in October of 2011, and the I-57 fiber cable was installed the following February. 

Fiber optic cable construction will continue throughout the summer, linking sites all the way from University Park connecting Governor’s State University, Richton Park, SouthCom Joint Dispatch in Matteson, and continuing on to locations in Dixmoor, Blue Island and the Markham courthouse, reaching over 30 facilities in communities bordering I-57. South Suburban College’s main campus and University and College Center will be two of the hubs tied into the I-57 fiber project.  The project is scheduled to be completed by January 2014.

Don Manning, SSC President; John Daly, Vice-Chair of BOT; and John McCormack, Executive Director of Information Technology; were on hand to address the gathered crowd regarding the importance of the project and the college’s commitment to this unique collaboration.

“The I-57 fiber project will greatly increase the amount of Internet bandwidth coming into our main and satellite campuses,” said McCormack.  “With the increase in bandwidth, we will be able to offer courses in telemedicine, state-of-the-art telepresence, and one-to-one applications, in which our students will have the opportunity to learn 24/7 and at their own pace. Our goal is to work with the local communities to get this high-speed bandwidth out to the schools, local governments, and businesses where it can be used to increase the quality of life for our community as well as to be a stimulus for economic growth in the area.” 

SSC has already started working with some local schools and municipalities to develop the designs necessary to extend the bandwidth out to areas in need and will use the knowledge as a boilerplate for reaching even more areas.  McCormick added, “This is an exciting time for the college and we are proud to be a part of this worthwhile project.”

The fiber network constructed by SSMMA will be operated by the Chicago Southland Fiber Network (CSFN), a separate not-for-profit organization.  CSFN’s primary mission is to provide state-of-the-art broadband services to educational, governmental, healthcare and other public interest institutions in the south suburban Chicago area.