Bryan Fife
The city of Spanish Fork is currently placing an underground system of fiber-optic lines throughout the city.
According to Jon Bowcut, the director of information systems, the system of fiber-optic lines will be complete in about two and a half years.
Lillian Shepherd, a member of the Spanish Fork City Council, said that the fiber-optic lines will allow high-speed Internet access and make it possible for the city to have their own community television channel.
According to Shepherd, the fiber-optic lines will allow an Internet connection that is 100 times faster than what is currently accessible.
Bowcut said the community channel will broadcast civic and school events as well as spotlight businesses. Some of the events that would be broadcast include school plays and concerts, as well as parades and rodeos.
Shepherd said the community channel will also be used to broadcast announcements. She also said that during emergency situations the community channel will be used to communicate information important for residents to know.
Somewhat of an emergency situation, in which a community channel would have been extremely useful, recently occurred in Spanish Fork: a main waterline broke in the southeast section of town, said Shepherd.
For 72 hours the water in the southeast section of town was totally shut off. Pre-designated emergency response teams, organized through Spanish Fork’s network of wards and stakes, had to be continually updated about developments in the crisis so they would know what actions to take, said Shepherd.
Shepherd said that a community channel would have allowed the “updates” for the emergency teams to be communicated much more efficiently.
Bowcut said that the fiber-optic system will “create a community network that will bring the community together through the Internet and community cable channel.”
Bowcut also said the fiber-optic lines will also be used to create a “business network” that will interconnect offices and provide high-speed Internet access.
Bowcut said a committee of Spanish Fork citizens consisting of technical experts is currently developing ways to utilize the fiber-optic system to best enhance the “community network.”
Dale Bills, the technical services supervisor for the Nebo School District and a member of the committee, said that the district is excited about the fiber-optic network because it will allow all of the schools in the district to communicate through the Internet at a greater speed and lower cost.
Bills also said that the city is implementing the fiber-optic system not just to “make money, but to provide a better service at a lower cost.”
