Nsight Announces Completion Door County Fiber Route

Nsight, parent company of Cellcom and Nsight Telservices, has announced the completion of its Door County fiber optic route. The project, which involved installation of fiber from Green Bay to Gills Rock, is providing added capacity for data services for Cellcom wireless customers and high-speed internet services for Nsight Telservices business customers.

The new infrastructure has positive implications for business in Door County. The Door County Economic Development Corporation noted that the project will provide further opportunity for the peninsula.

“Visitors and industries increasingly rely on high speed internet to conduct business. In cooperation with the County of Door, Nsight has provided the infrastructure means to help Door County stay competitive in retaining and recruiting businesses and property owners,” said Paige Funkhouser, Economic Development Manager for DCEDC. “We learned in a 2017 survey, that part-time residents would extend their stay in Door County by 12 days a year if broadband internet became widely available in the region. Estimates show that on average, part-time residents spend $117.83 a day. This could generate approximately $1,219,196 in additional output for local businesses and generates $404,066 in additional labor income and 20 full-time equivalent jobs.”

High-speed connectivity is a priority for businesses of all sizes. Fiber offers opportunities for existing businesses to expand their bandwidth and potentially expand their business and can stimulate new growth in communities by attracting new businesses. Upon lighting of the route, Nsight Telservices can offer up to 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) systems. Fiber is considered a future-proof technology, as its capacity is scalable with additional optical equipment.

“Nsight’s investment empowers businesses to keep up with emerging technology, enabling capacity to grow with the bandwidth demands,” said Pat Riordan, president and CEO of Nsight. “In addition to speed and capacity, the reliability of fiber and redundancy of our network means improved business continuity for businesses and enterprises who need to their connection to be up around the clock.”

Door County’s rocky terrain makes for higher construction costs and the environmental considerations are also more complex. The project demonstrates Cellcom and Nsight Telservices continued commitment to serving rural areas.

“As a local provider, we are committed to bringing the latest technology to communities of all sizes in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan,” said Riordan. “Door County is a special place that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Residents go the extra mile to maintain the pristine natural landscapes and we kept that in mind for this project, choosing to invest more time and money to maintain the unspoiled environment.”  

The fiber route also connects Cellcom’s cell sites in the peninsula allowing for greater capacity for smartphone users on the network. Consumers are using their smartphones more than ever, with no signs of a slowdown. Data traffic per smartphone is expected to grow from an average of 7.1 gigabytes per month in 2017 to 48 gigabytes per month in 2023.¹ Fiber allows for more traffic to be on the network at one time and helps meet customer demands for high-bandwidth services like video, gaming and virtual reality. Video currently accounts for 60% of mobile traffic and is projected to account for 77% by 2020.²

The State of Wisconsin continues to offer its support for broadband infrastructure investment, acknowledging the important role broadband plays in economic development and quality of life.  

“Access to reliable, high speed internet service is a necessary part of life for Wisconsin’s families and businesses,” said Angie Dickison, State Broadband Director. “Nsight’s investment to complete this fiber route brings us another step closer to achieving Wisconsin’s goal of bringing broadband access to every corner of our state.”

Door County businesses looking to learn more about connectivity options, can contact Nsight Telservices. 

¹ https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report/reports/november-2017/mobile-data-traffic-growth-outlook

² https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/mobile-white-paper-c11-520862.html