Riding a Fiber Optic Line Into the 21st Century

publication date: Dec 17, 2007

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author/source: Jonathan Copsey / STAFF

Roswell will be laying fiber optic lines to connect its most important buildings and bring them into the 21st Century.

Fiber optic cables are essentially a faster, more robust method of communicating than traditional telephone or cable lines. With a fiber optic system in place, communication bottlenecks become rare. 

“Fiber optic offers the best combination of performance, security, and reliability,” said Roswell IT Director Ross Carlson. “It’s highly scalable and when engineered correctly it provides a network that can survive just about any disaster, major or minor.” 

Roswell already owns six fiber lines through an agreement with FiberLight, a national fiber optic carrier. FiberLight has built a fiber optic ring around North Atlanta and, in return for Roswell waiving certain fees, gave the City the six lines, valued at $1.5 million. The current improvements will attach city buildings to that fiber network.

The construction should not mean major delays for commuters.

“We are about to complete the construction for our first two sites, City Hall and the Police Department on Hill Street, and other than a few construction cones surrounding a truck or two, this work was completed with minimal disruption to the public in less than four weeks,” Carlson said. “If the facility is very close to the existing fiber, like it is with some of our fire stations, the work for that site could take under a week.” 

The project will be expensive, but it is being paid for out of the city’s undesignated fund, and will not result in a tax increase, Mayor Jere Wood said. And there’s a tradeoff: After the installation costs are paid, the system begins saving the city money. Currently, Roswell leases lines from AT&T. The fiber system, being wholly owned by Roswell, will cost much less in upkeep.

“It’s similar to replacing the roof on your home,” Carlson said. “It’s one of those things where you have to accept the need, just do it, and know that you’re all set for another 15 to 20 years. In the past, the network was designed piecemeal and with more of a band-aid approach, more like constantly patching your leaky roof than replacing it once, the right way.”

Sites to be Upgraded

• 1.  City Hall, 38 Hill Street
• 2.  Law Enforcement Center (PD), 39 Hill Street
• 3.  Transportation/Fire/PW Facility, 1810 Hembree Road
• 4.  Roswell-Alpharetta Public Safety Training Center, 11565 Maxwell Road
• 5.  East Roswell Park Recreation Center, 9000 Fouts Road
• 6.  Roswell Area Park (includes Community Activity Building, Physical Activity Center, Visual Activity Center), 10495 Woodstock Road
• 7.  Dobbs Drive Campus (includes Parks Administration Building, Water Department, Water Plant), 100/105/150 Dobbs Drive
• 8.  Adult Recreation Center, 830 Grimes Bridge Road
• 9.  Fire Station 1, 1002 Alpharetta Street
• 10. Fire Station 2, 115 Crabapple Road
• 11. Fire Station 4, 1601 Holcomb Bridge Road
• 12. Fire Station 5, 1200 Hembree Road
• 13. Fire Station 7, 8025 Holcomb Bridge Road
• 14. Hembree Park Recreation Center, 850 Hembree Road
• 15. Waller Park Recreation Center, 250 Oak Street