Home Telecom Expands Existing Fiber Network to Bring Gigabit Connectivity to Charleston Peninsula

Home Telecom, an independent telecommunications company based out of Moncks Corner, is launching "GigUP Charleston" designed to improve business and residential internet speeds by 100 times current standards. Home Telecom will phase the introduction of fiber and gigabit service, first in the tech corridor of Morrison Drive and East Bay Street then extending its fiber-rich gigabit service along Calhoun Street to the West Edge neighborhood within the first six months of 2017.

Beginning today, residents and businesses on the Charleston Peninsula can share their interest in receiving exciting new gigabit internet technology known as Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) or Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) for businesses by completing an Interest Form available on GigUP Charleston's new website at www.GigUPCharleston.com where they can also get more information.

This much needed fiber infrastructure is necessary to drive economic development along Charleston's fast growing high-tech business corridor.

"We are excited Home Telecom has made the decision to expand their fiber network onto the Charleston Peninsula," said Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg. "Gigabit internet speed will help grow our knowledge-based and technology businesses, support small businesses and improve the quality of life for all area residents."

Home Telecom has the proven innovation and experience to handle this project. As early as 2004, Home Telecom began offering Fiber-to-the-Premises on Daniel Island and immediately began expanding their fiber network throughout Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley Counties. In 2013, they became the first to begin offering gigabit internet services in the Tri-county with its partnership with Nexton in Summerville. Today, Home Telecom is actively serving over 12,000 homes and 1,000 businesses with fiber currently passing an additional 11,000 addresses in the Tri-county area.

By increasing internet speeds from an average of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) to 1,000 Mbps, Charleston area businesses will experience significant increases in communications and business efficiency including more reliable video conferencing capabilities; the ability to send larger files via the internet; and faster transfer of data for multiple user networks and devices. On the residential side, customers experience improvements like lag-free online gaming; and the ability to stream without buffering, at least five high-definition (1080p) videos at once, while surfing the web and sending email.

According to Home Telecom President and COO, William S. Helmly, his company is a member-owner of Spirit Communications who will collaborate with Home Telecom in the implementation of GigUP Charleston.

"By combining our fiber network and our experience in fiber technology with Spirit Communications' nearby fiber network, we will be successfully improving broadband connectivity for the Charleston Peninsula area," said Helmly.

The Charleston Digital Corridor (CDC), a tech-focused economic development organization, has listed access to competitively priced, fast and reliable internet service as one of the region's most pressing challenges.

"Internet service is the life blood of our growing tech community," says CDC founder and Executive Director Ernest Andrade, who has grown the organization from 18 companies to over 150. The region recognizes CDC as a model for high-wage knowledge based economic development.

"Home Telecom stepped in when other providers failed and has been providing reliable, high speed internet to our Flagship and Flagship2 locations in downtown Charleston since 2013. We look forward to having gigabit service at our Flagship3 location, and we are excited to watch Charleston's tech community grow with the expansion of gigabit fiber on the Peninsula."

Home Telecom is one of the 11 member-owners of Spirit Communications, a private communications company headquartered in Columbia, SC. Spirit and its owners are, and always have been, visionaries who realize that the future of business, education, social, economic, healthcare and industrial development depends on the availability of a strong telecommunications infrastructure.

"In partnership with one of our owners, Home Telecom, we are excited to bring increased fiber optic facilities and gigabit speeds to the Charleston Peninsula. This is one of many areas of focus throughout the Charleston area and a continued commitment to the Carolinas to be at the forefront of technological leadership," says Bob Keane, President and CEO for Spirit Communications

On October 25, 2016, Spirit and their owners launched the GigUP South Carolina initiative to promote how businesses, homes, and schools can take advantage of the blazing speed of more than 1 million miles of gigabit-ready fiber optic infrastructure already in place across the state. The GigUP Charleston launch, led by Home Telecom, is part of the groups' statewide initiative to promote South Carolina as a Gigabit State.

Fiber Optic Cable is mandatory in providing the fastest internet service available, acting like a long, lighted corridor with thousands of mirrors that move data faster and farther than traditional copper wire cable. The launch of GigUP Charleston will firmly establish the City of Charleston as an innovation leader in South Carolina in addition to being a worldwide premier travel destination.