ABOUT US

In 2001 Project Future and the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce , recognizing potential economic development opportunity in the emerging technology-driven "new economy", appointed a Technology Task Force to assess how well St. Joseph County is positioned to catch the "tech wave" and recommend strategies for assuring the area's technology competitiveness.

Project Future's Board of Trustees appointed a Telecommunications Committee to specifically address the issue of the telecommunications infrastructure. The Committee learned from key local employers that:

• Advanced IT has become an integral part of higher education and research programs, is of increasing importance to cultural programs and K-12 curricula, and is becoming a necessity for businesses, healthcare institutions and government agencies.

• An essential part of the IT local employers want to use is high-speed connectivity that enables state-of-the-art communications and access to a wide range of information, resources, and services.

• Many organizations want access to "dark fiber" telecommunications infrastructure, which is largely unavailable in area. ("Dark fiber" provides only a fiber optic path between two sites. To use that path for communications, users have their own optical equipment or employ a telecommunications service vendor who provides equipment to "light" the fiber.)

Accordingly, the Committee concluded there is a need for an entity which supplies widespread dark fiber infrastructure in the local area, and it formed a non-profit corporation, St. Joe Valley Metronet, Inc., to serve that purpose.

The mission of St. Joe Valley Metronet, Inc. ("SJVMI") is to encourage technology-based economic development by providing state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure at cost-effective prices. SJVMI's goal is readily available, cost-effective access to high-speed telecommunications for local businesses, education and healthcare institutions, and government agencies. As a non-profit corporation, SJVMI can pursue its mission and goal without ever having to choose between what's good for the community and what's good for a corporation's bottom line.

The infrastructure SJVMI —the "Metronet"— provides is a dark fiber network linking local users to long-haul trunk line points-of-presence ("POPs"). The value of a dark fiber network comes from the POPs to which it connects. The Metronet connects to POPs where many telecommunications vendors are accessible. Availability of more vendors gives users a greater array of service choices and better pricing.

The Metronet is vendor neutral. That is, it provides infrastructure only—not telecommunications services—and it is open to all telecommunications service vendors and users who want to subscribe.

The initial Metronet installation serves South Bend’s Central Business District and East Bank District, the South Bend Regional Airport Industrial Park area, Indiana University South Bend and IVY Tech Community College of Indiana campuses; Blackthorn Development area, Notre Dame, Holy Cross and St. Mary’s campuses, and Bosch/Honeywell area.

In summary, the Metronet:

• encourages local economic development,

• is open to all telecommunications service vendors and users, and

• enable municipalities to save taxpayers' dollars.