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CHESTER -- True North in Chester, and NerdsToGo, located in Moon Township, Pa., are working with Horizon Communications, a Midwest fiber network service provider, to bring high-performance, reliable and secure business internet service to the Ohio Valley through Horizon's fiber optic network.
True North is serving as the pilot location in northern Hancock County, while NerdsToGo will be handling the installation and local area network configuration, according to True North President Chuck Bailey.
Bailey discussed the plans during the most recent meeting of Chester Council.
The partnership will pave the way for additional business users to access reliable fiber optic internet service in Columbiana and Jefferson counties in Ohio as well as Hancock and Brooke counties in West Virginia.
True North is one of the first to commit with Horizon, which is a company that has provided broadband solutions for more than a decade to commercial customers in Ohio and across the Midwest. Horizon has run a trunk line through East Liverpool and across the Newell Bridge and through downtown Chester along Carolina Avenue.
During the December council meeting, Bailey stated that the coronavirus pandemic, which required many to work and learn remotely, complicated the area's already struggling technological issues.
In a statement issued Dec. 21, Bailey elaborated, "Horizon's fiber optic broadband solutions provide the high speeds, reliability, security, flexibility and redundancy that today's businesses demand. Reliable, high speed internet service is critical to our growth. Our partnership with Horizon will pave the way for adding dozens of new employees and customers in the coming year."
He added, "engaging our NerdsToGo team to provide installation and support services to customers switching to Horizon fiber will assure a seamless conversion for customers converting to fiber internet. It's an exciting time for customers that want the best internet speeds available in the market."
His company, which specializes in accounting and financial planning solutions, experienced the same. "It has been a problem," he said, as the traditional bandwidth is tied up with Zoom meetings and online learning.
Bailey expects to go live with Horizon in the first quarter, and he was on hand to share the availability in the hopes of recruiting other businesses to do the same. They are not planning to take it to residential customers right now; however, Bailey said that if there are companies that need more bandwidth, this broadband could be a solution.
"Horizon has been building and servicing fiber networks across Ohio and West Virginia for over a decade," stated Glenn Lytle, chief revenue officer for Horizon. "What started as a means to supply rural township governments, schools and hospitals with reliable connectivity, has expanded into a Midwest footprint (more than) 6,000 miles with enterprise-grade Dedicated Internet Access, Ethernet, SD-WAN services and more."
According to the telecommunications company website, www.horizonconnects.com, Horizon has been servicing its customers in southern Ohio for 125 years.