A remarkable public-private partnership agreement has created a high-capacity optical fibre communications backbone for the New York State Thruway in the USA, and provided additional capacity for many leased applications across the state. Thus the state should become a vital link in a US-wide fibre optic network, and the project should benefit the state's businesses and make them more competitive. The project is already revolutionising telecommunications in the state by enabling reliable, high-speed transfer of voice, video and data communications over long distances. The partners in the project are the New York State Thruway Authority and MFS Network Technologies Inc. MFS bore all construction and marketing costs, and is entitled to the first US$50M of income generated by the network. When fully operational, the network is expected to generate over US$100M of revenues, and its ownership will be transferred to the Thruway Authority after 20 years. The Thruway gives MFS secure rights of way for its fibre optic cables, and in return the network will meet many of its varied telecommunications needs. About 4000 miles of ducts were laid along the Thruway system, which is the longest toll road in the USA.
Samenvatting