The Rushville City Council received the final word on a project that has been underway since they gave their nod of approval in August 2005. Randy Frye from Blue River Telecom made the announcement Tuesday evening that Phase I of the fiber optic network (LAN) project is complete. The project came in at $179,000.

“We have good news,” Frye said. “Phase I is completely up and running, and passing data. As we make some final configuration changes between downtown offices, we look towards the future, which is Phase II of this multi-phase project.”

The first part of the fiber project has been completed ahead of schedule. BRT originally had estimated a completion date of Dec. 25. Frye said the early end to construction is just in time to act as a gift for the holidays.

“We are very pleased to have met our deadline,” he said.

In August, Frye noted that the changes the project would bring are state-of-the-art and represent a push towards the future for the community.

“We will be able to eventually connect local departments like the police, sheriff (and) prosecutor...so that they can operate within the same caseworks,” Frye said. “No longer will local officials have to dig through a closet at the Rush County Courthouse for information on past cases. In the very near future, we can also have cameras in your courtrooms, wired to be seen in the sheriff’s department or police department. In short, we are looking to help this community move into the future.”

The completed Phase I includes:

n A 12 strand fiber optic cable from the Rush County Courthouse to the mayor’s office.

n A 12 strand fiber optic cable from the courthouse to the Rush County Sheriff’s Department.

n Links from the RCSD to the Rushville Fire Department.

n A 24 strand fiber optic cable from the courthouse to RushShelby Energy to provide high speed bandwidth to serve as a feed to the outside world.

n A load sharing server in the courthouse to serve both the city and county.

n Cicso equipment in the mayor’s office, the RCSD office, the RFD, and the courthouse.

n Eight-hour UPS equipment to serve as a battery back-up for the LAN.

According to BRT, the Phase I network has built a foundation for future expansion and the groundwork for Phase II.

Phase II will start with the installation of a fiber optic distribution hub downtown, then thread throughout the industrial park on Conrad Harcourt Way. The second part of the project has been given a rough estimated price tag of $750,000; Frye said that it is likely the project will pay for itself in five years or less.

“We will host a January luncheon with the IT personnel and industry in Rushville to get a consensus of the interest,” Frye said.

BRT representative Kevin Boyer noted that thus far they feel the additional phase of the project has been accepted by the industry in the community.

“We feel that Phase II is going to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to the community, especially to the industry, who stand to benefit the most from this,” Boyer said. “We look forward to this meeting in January because we feel we will get a very good grasp on what these companies think they need as far as bandwidth, and what they are going to be willing to invest in the project.”

The Phase II expansions that BRT has in mind include wireless downtown with connection to the fiber backbone, voice-over IP communications for both city and county, video conferencing and network cameras for public safety, mobile data communications for public safety departments, and will “energize business development and attract new industry.”

Read more about the fiber project in upcoming issues of the Rushville Republican.



Rushville Republican Staff Writer Starr Shuppert can be contacted at (765) 932-2222; at P.O. Box 189, Rushville, IN 46173; or at starr.shuppert@cnhimedia.com.