Arizona Public Service is improving the fiber optic lines that send information around its power grid. As KNAU’s Zac Ziegler reports, that could mean improved internet speeds in some of Northern Arizona’s rural areas:
Phase one of the project will link Phoenix to Payson, and Flagstaff to the Verde Valley next year.
Phase two will run fiber to Cholla Power Plant near Holbrook in 2021.
Dominic Pagliuca manages APS’s fiber operations. He says communities near those lines could get service for the first time, or see improved speeds or reliability as a result.
“As you bring in the super-highway, if you will, other providers can latch on and take advantage of this connection. This just provides another path”
APS plans to act as an intermediary and lease excess bandwidth to internet providers who will then connect users.
