Merit NetworkBTOP Status
Robert Duncan & Pete MillerDirector of Network
Operations
REACH-3MC Project $130 MM Project
l $102 MM Federal Governmentl $8 MM Meritl $20 MM Commercial Sub-
recipients ~2300 miles of backbone
fiber-optic cable Equal access to Information
throughout Michigan Over 100 schools/libraries
directly connected Fiber is a possibility for
hundreds more Homes and businesses served
by sub-recipients and their customers
REACH 3MC Route Breakdown
Round I Routes are in four corridors:l Southern Corridor, Monroe to Benton Harborl Western Corridor, Benton Harbor to
Mackinaw Cityl Central Corridor, Mount Pleasant to Hillmanl Eastern Corridor, Midland to Oscoda
Within each corridor fiber segments from city to city were defined
Intermediate cities were selected for “drive by” to allow future service to under served areas
REACH 3MC II Route Breakdown
Round II Routes are in three corridors:
l Middle Corridor, Grand Rapids to Oscoda
l North East Corridor, Oscoda to Mackinaw City
l Northern Corridor, St. Ignace to Ironwood
Additional spurs from the main path:
l Green Bay spur, connects to Wiscnet and BOREASnet
l Duluth spur, connects to BOREASnetl Houghton spur, connects to MTU
REACH 3MC, II and Existing Merit Backbone
Merit’s existing 1,600 mile fiber network is shown in GREEN
Round I ARRA funded new build is shown in BLUE
Round II ARRA proposed new build is shown in RED
Both join current Merit fiber network in key locations
l Monroe • Hillsdalel Mt. Pleasant •
Muskegonl Midland • Hillmanl Big Rapids • Grand
Rapids
REACH 3MC Network Specifications Backbone network varies from 60 to 156
count across the entire primary footprint
l Distributed across ?? partners l Partners have ownership of various count of fiber on
a per segment basisl Lateral builds into Anchor Tenants will be fewer fiberl Builds into Anchor Tenants off of the main fiber
trunk are budgeted separately from the backbone Merit is taking 12-18 count across the
segmentsl On one portion of the Southern Route Merit has 12
count SMF-28e or equivalent fiber will be used
l Low loss across DWDM bandsl Reasonable price pointl No special optronics required
Fiber Utilization Planning
Merit will immediately light two pair of fiber One fiber pair will be lit with long haul DWDM
10ge electronics and connect major sitesl Approximately 150 to 200 miles apartl No mid segment node insertions planned
The second fiber pair will be lit with CWDM 1ge electronics
l This will be the access networkl Many mid segment insertions plannedl Driving signal both directions to nearest 10g node
Remaining dark fiber will be available for future network expansion and lease
10g North Node
10g South Node
1g Mid Node
1g Mid Node
Implementation Strategy
Completed Environmental Assessment For Round I
Completed Engineering For Round I Sourced the optical networking HW to ADVA Completed Round I Construction RFP Will Work With 5 or 6 Construction Firms Approximately 20 Construction Crews Running Build Out From Existing Network
Collaboration
Duluth Spur Connecting To BOREASnet Green Bay Spur Connecting To Wiscnet and BOREASnet UW-Extensions (Popular Wis. To Superior) Build Will Utilize Existing Infrastructure
l 20 Miles of Manistee ISD? Conduitl Grand Haven School District Conduitl All Band/ Hillman Conduitl Bridge Authority
Build Collaborationsl Bloomingdale Telephonel Northeast Co-OP Duluth
Lessons Learned
Environmental Assessment / FONSI RFP Everything / Sole Source Justification Documentation 250000 Docs Governmental Regulations and Requirements Permitting Collaboration Is Critical
Thank You