Fiber optics is the cutting edge way to connect to the Internet, and Lansing-based
Arialink
has expanded its fiber optic availability to the Charlotte and Potterville
communities, stretching the company’s service from eastern Ingham
County to the West Michigan lakeshore.
Hayes Green Memorial Beach Hospital and
Team One Chevrolet in Charlotte and
Potterville Public Schools
are some of Arialink’s newest customers.
Arialink's Tim Lebel says fiber optics can help both schools and small
businesses advance technologically. “It opens
up the possibility for virtual classrooms,” he says, broadening the
student experience. “And for businesses, the phrase ‘Time is money’ is
applicable here.”
Headquartered in Lansing, Arialink employs 50 people throughout the state. They rank second behind telecommunications giant
AT&T
in fiber optic availability in Michigan, who Lebel considers Arialink’s
biggest competitor. He believes another Internet service provider will
ultimately benefit customers by offering competitive prices. And
Arialink intends to be competitive.
“Our goal is to knock their socks off,” he says.
Fiber
optics differ from copper-based connections such as DSL and T1
connections by offering a much larger bandwidth, which is measured in
megabits. While copper-based connections usually have a bandwidth near
80 megabits, Lebel says fiber optics have “virtually unlimited
bandwidth.”
Source: Tim Lebel, Arialink
Writer: Andy Balaskovitz
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