Slow Internet could be a thing of the past for Gainesville residents living or working in the Innovation District east of campus.
GRUCom, a Gainesville Regional Utilities telecommunications division, and UF agreed Monday to bring gigabit broadband connections to the district.
The new gigabit network will provide connection speeds of one gigabit per second, which is about 100 times faster than standard DSL or cable services, according to a press release.
The Internet option will be available at the end of June and will extend to other parts of the district as the area develops, according to the release.
GRU General Manager Bob Hunzinger said in a statement GRU will support entrepreneurial and technological developments in the district with the new broadband connections.
The Internet service will be available to residents for an introductory price of $99 per month, which includes 50 megabits per second of service. Rates are determined on an individual basis, according to GRUCom’s website.
UF students, faculty and staff in the district will have remote access to on-campus networks.
The initiative is part of the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project, or Gig.U, which will bring high-speed networks to U.S. universities.
“This is something that was involved in all the major leading research universities in the country,” said UF spokesman Steve Orlando. “We felt it was something we needed to be a part of as well.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
