Tucows’ Ting Internet has launched fiber service in select neighborhoods across Alexandria, Virginia, which the company said is now Ting’s largest market to-date.
Plans to construct the network were announced last spring, with Tucows CEO Elliot Noss then noting Alexandria has over 90,000 serviceable addresses.
Ting began construction last September and has broken down the project into five major areas. The operator has started fiber installations in Alexandria’s North East neighborhood and will build in the further parts of the city, eventually finishing installations in Old Town.
Ting anticipates full municipal access to the network will be available by 2025.
Alexandria residents will be able to sign up for Ting’s symmetrical 1-gig fiber for $89 per month. Additionally, Ting has struck an agreement with the City of Alexandria to provide free internet to 4,000 affordable housing units qualified for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
"Not only has Ting brought a truly competitive broadband marketplace to our city, the added resource of no-cost accessibility for those who qualify for this program can be a gamechanger for thousands of Alexandrians," said Justin Wilson, Mayor of Alexandria, in a statement. "We know, as city leaders, we must continue to identify partners and solutions that not only make good 'business sense' but also make change possible for the people and businesses we serve."
Ting is using micro-trenching to build out the network. Micro-trenching is a technique in which cable is laid inside a narrow trench (roughly 1 to 3 inches wide and 6 to 24 inches deep), located in roadways and other rights-of-way.
Ting has claimed micro-trenching is faster than traditional underground construction and that it’s less disruptive to traffic and access to property.
The operator finished the fourth quarter with a total of 115,700 serviceable addresses and more than 34,500 subscribers. Ting’s progress in Alexandria comes a few weeks after Tucows announced EVP of Networks Jill Szuchmacher will leave the company. She will be replaced by Jason Smith, Ting SVP of Customer Operations and Construction.
Aside from Virginia, Ting has ramped up fiber expansion in Colorado and Arizona. It’s also signed on as an anchor tenant on a utility-owned fiber network in Colorado Springs, Colorado.