Mayor Chris Beutler celebrated completion of the heavy construction portion of Allo Communications work in Lincoln with the company's president and some of its employees at a Thursday news conference.
“What a game changer this has been for the city of Lincoln,†Beutler said about the project, which is bringing high-speed internet service to homes and businesses across the city.
The Allo fiber project, which has disturbed yards across the city, put 1.1 billion linear feet of fiber underground and put Lincoln on the internet technology map.
Lincoln is one of 25 Smart Gigabit Communities in the United States and the sixth-fastest internet city among the top U.S. cities, Allo President Brad Moline said.
To make that happen, Allo and Nelnet invested millions of dollars and Allo added 363 permanent jobs in Lincoln that didn’t exist three years ago, Moline said.
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Moline thanked Beutler, the other companies that made the fiber project possible and the community patience while the fiber was being laid.
Most of the disruptive work is complete, Moline said. “We are on the cusp of having it totally completed."
Allo has small additions to the network and hooking up businesses and homes that want service.Ìý
Allo is one of three companies that provide internet, television and telephone service in Lincoln.Ìý
This is one of the largest fiber connectivity projects of its kind in the United States, he said. And it took less than three years instead of the four- to six-year original timeline.
Beutler praised the partnership between the city and the private companies. “We’ve started calling it the Lincoln way, to bring different sectors of the community together to solve problems, create change and make improvements.â€