Armstrong announces highest internet speeds
CRANBERRY TWP — In a change county commissioners chairwoman Leslie Osche called “transformational for the county,” Armstrong on Thursday announced the availability of its new fiber network services.
During the “Zoom 10G Network Expo” at the Regional Learning Alliance on Thursday, Armstrong Utilities Inc. executives announced that its fastest internet speeds — of 3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) — are now available to more than 15,000 households in southern Butler County, an expansion on which the company has worked for roughly three years.
“We’re one of the first companies in the country that’s making this available to residential customers,” Armstrong president Jeff Ross said. “It’s not something we’re talking about doing. It’s already done.”
With the availability of Armstrong’s newest internet service plan — dubbed “Zoom Extreme Plus” — in the county’s southern tier, local officials believe Butler County is on the precipice of a vast change.
“This is all transformational for the county,” Osche said. “I think the applications are endless.”
Armstrong itself boasted about the potential applications for its multi-gigabit internet speeds: Better telemedicine and easier video conferencing, for instance, but also the ability to attract to Butler County workers who are remotely employed.
Mark Gordon, the county’s director of economic development, said the past two years have highlighted the importance of internet connectivity.
“Today, this type of technology really has to be classified as infrastructure,” Gordon said.
Jordan Grady, president of the county chamber of commerce, said the technological advancement brought by Armstrong shows it is truly part of the community.
“I think this is awesome for the southern part of Butler County,” Grady said. “Armstrong’s commitment to serve this area is unmatched.”
The higher internet speeds, too, will give county residents an advantage in bandwidth, he added.
“It’s going to give residents the ability to stream at the same rate as a multi-billion-dollar corporation,” Grady said.
The $300 million project Armstrong began to bring in “10G” capability isn’t done, according to vice president Joe Taylor.
More than 400 miles of fiber line have been laid as of June, he said, and there are many more miles to be constructed.
“We’re going to do this everywhere,” he said.
The fiber network means residents will be able to access not only this latest generation of technology but many more to come. Ross said the line could support speeds up to 100 Gbps, keeping the need for re-constructing a network to a minimum.
Not only that, Ross said, but faster speeds mean even more possible applications.
“I think, really, we’re just scratching the surface of what this technology can do,” Ross said. “This is going to enable things that we’re not even talking about.”
In addition to announcing its latest generation of internet speeds, which are available to more than 15,000 homes in southern Butler County, Armstrong made three additional announcements Thursday.
First, Armstrong is eliminating data caps for southern Butler County customers and plans to eliminate caps for all customers within a year. Ross said this will let customers access even more bandwidth at no additional cost.
Second, Ross said “legacy” internet customers can get a free upgrade to “enhanced” Wi-Fi technologies, which will allow them to set up devices which will extend service throughout their homes.
Finally, Ross announced changes to internet speed plans, which will occur at no additional charge to customers.
Customers who receive service at the 150 Megabit-per-second, or Mbps, rate will be upgraded to 250 Mbps. Those who pay for 250 Mbps will receive service at 500 Mbps.
The Gigabit service will remain at 1 Gbps, but the company also announced the introduction of 3 Gbps speeds as Zoom Extreme Plus.
