By BETTINA PUCKETT, Shelbyville News staff writer
Five years ago, Shelby County was not even considered a “player” in attracting technologically sophisticated companies.
But today — thanks to having the most extensive community-owned fiber optics network in the state — times have changed, said Lee McNeely, chairman of the Shelby County Fiber Technology Board of Directors.
Intelliplex Park is fiber-wired with the latest technology. The park is one of three premier tech sites in Indiana that is highly touted by the state, said Jack Horner, the board’s vice chairman.
Others on the “short list” include Purdue University and the tech park in Indianapolis, McNeely said.
“The most technologically advanced plant in America could locate in Intelliplex Park tomorrow, get hooked up and would be ready to go,” he said.
“I don’t believe we would have landed Makuta without the infrastructure we have at Intelliplex Park,” said Dan Vangundy, a technical adviser to the board who works with Horner at Major Hospital. “They had a tech guy talk to me for over an hour about our technical capabilities at Intelliplex Park.”
Makuta Technics Inc., a Columbus-based company, announced Oct. 26 that it would move to Intelliplex Park.
Since the fiber board’s inception in March 2001, fiber lines have been run to city and county government offices, Major Hospital, the Criminal Justice Center, St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Shelbyville-Shelby County Public Library, plus Shelbyville, Morristown and Waldron schools.
“Southwestern (Consolidated School District) should be completed by the end of November,” Horner said.
The only school district in Shelby County that currently does not have fiber optic capability is Northwestern Consolidated Schools. “We’re working with our partners to try to bring the Triton system in,” he said.
Some local businesses desire fiber optics, but others don’t. “It’s expensive, and some people don’t have the need for it,” McNeely said.
People often hear about fiber-optic cables when referring to the telephone system, the cable television system or the Internet. Fiber-optic lines are strands of optically pure glass as thin as human hair that carry digital information over long distances.
Some companies refer to fiber optics as “the triple play,” meaning fiber-optic lines can transmit voice, video or data. “It’s faster than the blink of an eye,” Vangundy said.
Traditional telephone service used copper wire, which can transmit voice, except there is resistance, which means it can only go so fast and so far, McNeely said. Then there is DSL, which still uses copper, but combines it with technology to make the copper more efficient.
“But the state of the art — the Rolls Royce — is fiber,” McNeely said. “The beauty of glass is that there is virtually no resistance.”
For example, copper is like going out for a walk and having a 20 mph wind in your face, he said. With fiber optics, there’s no wind.
Water does not affect fiber optics and neither does lightning, Vangundy said.
The local fiber-optic system was begun during former Shelbyville Mayor Betsy Stephen’s administration when representatives of a company called Metro-Xmit (now Indiana Fiber Works) came to town and said they wanted to build a statewide fiber optic network and run it through Shelbyville.
McNeely said the city and county banded together and told Metro-Xmit that if it built a hub in Shelbyville, the county would give the company five acres of land, $150,000 to build a building and would not charge them for their right of way. The company then gave the city and the county its own fiber optics.
The fiber optics board currently meets on an as-needed basis, although members regularly communicate with one another via e-mail.
In addition to McNeely and Horner, the other members of the board include Jeff Linder, Paul Mahony, Phil Haehl and Bob Britton. Ron Lienemann recently resigned and a new member will be selected by an appointment board.
Last month, the board was told by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners that its annual Economic Development Income Tax allocation was reduced from $50,000 to $0 for calendar year 2006, but the board is still allowed to use the $50,000 earmarked for 2005.
The Shelby County Development Corp. was also told by the commissioners that its 2006 allotment was reduced from $50,000 to $3,500 (which is the amount the SCDC charges for a corporate membership). After that happened, Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson said that, if necessary, the city would kick in its $50,000 in EDIT funds to the SCDC and would also divert the $50,000 earmarked for the fiber board to the SCDC so that the SCDC would be fully funded.
Since many of the board’s projects have been completed, McNeely said the board will not need the $100,000 from the city and county in 2006, but has reserved the right to go back and ask for additional funding if an emergency need arises.
Horner, McNeely and Vangundy are proud of the work the fiber board has accomplished over the past few years.
“(All counties in Indiana) have fiber to some extent, but how many counties have a county fiber board with a county-owned system that they control?” McNeely asked. “In many places, you are dependent on the (companies) that own the fiber.”
McNeely said the board members are volunteers. “Everything we’ve done with the money they have given us has gone to either purchase the fiber or the equipment or to the actual construction of the infrastructure.”
When additional growth comes to Shelby County, the fiber-optics network is already in place.
“In the 21st century, this infrastructure will be as important as the highways were in the 20th century and the rivers were in the 19th century,” Horner said.
So what’s next for the fiber board? “We’ll continue to work on improving the network and expanding it,” McNeely said. “We’ll wait to see what challenges are in the future. If something new comes along, we’ll try to stay ahead of the game.”
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