High-speed attracts high-tech business
Irvine already is home to more than 900 high-tech businesses, making it Orange County’s premier tech hub. Now, Southern California Edison is making an investment to deploy 50 miles of new fiber-optic cable that will greatly expand its network in the city, helping Irvine attract even more high- paying jobs.
Southern California Edison Carrier Solution offers services, including internet connections, with very low latency and up to 100 gigabits per second exclusively to businesses. That’s more than 1,000 times faster than the average download speed in the U.S. and enough to satisfy the most data-hungry companies.
The service will be live at more than 80 Irvine Company commercial properties by the end of August. Edison is using underground conduit installed over the past few decades.
“The existing Irvine Company conduit will reduce timelines for deployment,” an Edison spokesman said, adding that the new network may help Irvine “become one of the most connected cities in the country.”
Experts say fast, reliable connection allows companies to improve productivity.
Moreover, Southern California Edison Carrier Solution is an open- access network. Most service providers build networks for their own use, selling direct to customers. This open-access network was designed with abundant fiber to allow other telecommunication companies to use it, encouraging healthy competition and a wide range of services. This means tenants can pick an internet service provider of their choice.
The selected provider will work with Edison to deliver the connection.
The service is scheduled to be available to all Irvine Company retail and office tenants in Orange County by the end of 2020.
Keeping up with the speed of life
Google Fiber is quickly expanding to apartments and single-family homes in Irvine, giving residents access to America’s fastest internet connection.
The fiber-optic network is now available in the village of Orchard Hills, the community of Barcelona, and at more than half of Irvine Company apartment communities.
Google Fiber offers Irvine residents download and upload speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. At this speed, a two-hour movie can be downloaded in under 10 seconds.
A recent broadband speed test revealed Irvine’s Google Fiber network delivers the fastest speeds of any network in America, topping those of San Francisco and Austin, Texas.
In addition to Google Fiber, Cox Communications has been upgrading its service in the area with its high-speed Gigablast offering.
Google Fiber, Cox and other providers have been able to quickly deploy fiber-optic networks in Irvine because of the existing underground conduit installed over the past few decades by Irvine Company as part of its master– planning process.
Residents can check their eligibility for Google Fiber and sign up for updates at google.com/fiber/oc.
To check availability of Cox’s Gigablast, visit cox.com/residential/internet/gigabit.html.
For a list of Irvine Company apartment communities that offer Google Fiber, visit irvinecompanyapartments.com/ rental-living/apartments-with- google-fiber.
