Verizon stopped its self imposed FiOS FTTH service deployment moratorium in April, announcing plans to build FTTH out to Boston. Under a six-year strategy, Verizon will invest $300 million to replace the aging copper network infrastructure of the city with fiber.

Northeast regional president for Verizon, Donna Cupelo, getting co-operation from local and state government leaders and sees two crucial elements in the business’s choice to bring FiOS to Boston: the city’s varied company landscape.

What also made Boston a feasible option for Verizon to roll out FiOS was the belief that fiber-based broadband connectivity can fuel new invention coming out of local Boston-based startup companies and universities.

“For Verizon, Boston is a leader in growing the innovation market,” Cupelo said. “You can not turn right or left and not see the great cooperation that’s growing between higher educational institutions, distinct corporations like ourselves that have initiation laboratories for R&D, and working with different startups.”

Cupelo, who also serves as the chairman of the Workforce Development Board of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, said helping local employers receive the best candidates to work at their businesses in addition to bringing FiOS to Boston could bring more entrepreneurs.

Verizon will target the neighborhoods of West Roxbury, Dorchester and Dudley Square with FiOS service. After deployments will take place in other places of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, and Hyde Park.

And while the first focus will be on providing consumer services, the new FiOS network will function as a platform for company services, backhauling 4 G wireless traffic and after 5 G LTE, and supporting smart city-unique programs like smart traffic lights.

An integral component in moving this plan forward was getting co-operation with city leaders.

Buildout wills accelerate
A vital component in making the FTTH obligation to Boston a success will be in obtaining access to needed rights of way along existing utility poles and other infrastructure.

Boston has vowed to help expedite the permitting process to support the new FTTH buildout to get access to this infrastructure.

Being an incumbent telco that is been supplying DSL service and conventional telephone to Boston for decades, any network can be built by Verizon under Title II of the Communications Act along the existing public right of way with any technology throughout Boston.

Cupelo said having an upfront network plan after assembling outside FiOS in other areas of the state and a strategy with each city where it intends to construct service will make the process smoother.

“We’ve learned our lessons through the entire state regarding the way you can design and construct a network quite economically,” Cupelo said. “You should have access, you additionally want the ability to streamline the permitting procedures, not only for businesses like ours but for others was predominant, and you’ll be able to see that since the mayor took office there is been progress.”

What made the Dorchester and Roxbury places appealing were the community leaders worked with companies and residents to get a handle on what the future of these communities will look like.

“Roxbury is an area which has done some extremely great work in assessing its needs and the Roxbury initiation centre is an area we’ve financed to help spur innovation beyond the seaport initiation district,” Cupelo said. “In Dorchester we’d done some first fiber investments and didn’t go through the whole community, but had began there.”

Cupelo included that West Roxbury was additionally crucial “because it permits US to function through our video abilities we use in 113 communities through the entire state.”

By reaching out to each neighborhood in the city, the service provider can have a look at how business is conducted by each region and needs a construct done, which streamlines the procedure for Verizon’s interface to the city and the city’s interface.

“This view of having of thoughts of looking at matters not singularly, but in places which we’re calling fiber zones, looking at whole regions at a time and not having preparation sections think what we’re doing,” Cupelo said. “It’s a more of a community place, which eases their manner of thinking about what else do they have going on in that place and when they can be going to open up roads, by way of example.”