Kinber selects Sunesys, Blair Park for fibre optic network

US-based Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (Kinber) has selected Quanta Services' telecommunication subsidiaries Sunesys and Blair Park Services to design and install a statewide 1,600 mile fibre optic network in Pennsylvania. The contract is valued at approximately USD 118.5 million. Kinber is a coalition of Pennsylvania colleges and universities, research and health care organisations and economic development entities. Sunesys and Blair Park will build a fibre optic network for Kinber that will connect the state's institutions of higher learning to national research institutions and networks through a 10 gigabit Ethernet service. Kinber, a non-profit organisation that will serve as coordinator for the construction and management of the network, received a grant for the project valued at USD 99.6 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The local and regional workforce of Quanta's Sunesys and Blair Park subsidiaries, which are both based in Warrington, Pennsylvania, will be utilised to install the fibre optic network. Engineering, design and other pre-construction activities are currently underway with construction projected to be completed by January 2013. Under the terms of the contract, Quanta, through its Sunesys subsidiary, will provide approximately USD 24 million in matching funds over a two-year period for the infrastructure portion of the project. In return for the company's investment in the project, Sunesys will receive certain rights related to right-of-way access on the PennRen network. PennRen will allow for the implementation and management of a broadband network that will span more than 1,600 miles through 39 counties, 22 of which are currently considered unserved or underserved based on their access to affordable broadband services. PennREN is expected to reach every region of the commonwealth and can serve more than 5 million individuals in more than 2 million households and 200,000 businesses. Initially, it will include thirteen primary network facilities and approximately 50 secondary locations.