The company that’s renovating much of downtown Alton has launched a $25 million citywide fiber internet network.
AltonWorks, which already opened a coworking space and has a number of housing efforts underway, is behind the opening of FiberNet. The service will reach 94% of the city residents and provide speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, the same connectivity used by Fortune 500 companies, AltonWorks said.
"Today marks Alton's entrance into the next century," John Simmons, CEO of AltonWorks, said in a statement. "We're not just installing cables. We're dismantling digital barriers, unlocking innovation, and ensuring that every child, every entrepreneur, and every resident has access to the same world-class opportunities as anyone, anywhere. This network will serve Alton for the next 100 years, evolving with technology we can't even imagine today."
Simmons, a prominent local attorney and Southern Illinois University Board of Trustee, started AltonWorks in 2018 with the hope to revitalize his hometown.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provided $20 million for the creation of AltonWorks FiberNet with a grant.
i3 Broadband, the internet provider, broke ground on the project in March and plans to complete FiberNet by 2027. Prices for the fiber service start at $30 per month at 300 megabits per second for both downloading and uploading, said Mike Elam, i3’s vice president of community affairs.
“Fiber is a game changing element for your community,” Elam said.
The hope is the new internet service will provide connectivity to households that had been unable to get it prior, attract remote workers and enhance the capabilities of small businesses, AltonWorks said.
Fiber will “future proof” the community because the infrastructure won’t need to be replaced down the road when higher speeds are needed, Elam said.
