KEYSVILLE, VA: The Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative hosted a dedication ceremony on September 19, 2006 at the Heartland Business Park in Keysville, Virginia. The event was attended by many officials and dignitaries of the Commonwealth celebrating the completion of the initial 700 mile fiber build-out.

Photo: Governor Kaine on-site for MBC’s fiber build-out ceremony in Keysville.

This project started in 2003, under former Governor Mark Warner’s administration and has been managed by the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative, a not-for-profit cooperative with offices in Richmond, Danville and South Boston.

The completion of the initial project phase includes major initiatives including:

• Over 60 business and Industrial Parks connected with advanced fiber optic networks
• Network connects 20 Counties and 4 Cities (Danville, Martinsville, Bedford and Emporia) in the Southside Region.
• Developed 20 carrier-class MSAP’s (Multi-Media Service Access Point) allowing interconnectivity of telecom service providers to the region.
• Over 700 miles of fiber route miles completed (75,000 strand miles)
• Deployment of latest carrier-class network backbone equipment by Nortel Networks allowing high-capacity, redundant optical transport services in the region
• Over 21 members have joined the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative, representing the private sector providers who will use the network to deliver services to the Southside region

Heartland Business Park on Route 360 is a Node facility on the network. At the dedication on September 19, representatives from the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative gave tours of the facility and explain how the system works. Representatives of Nortel Networks demonstrated the various applications of optical technologies and showcase the many economic benefits the new network will bring to the region.

Mid-Atlantic Cooperative is a not-for-profit organization with offices in Richmond, Danville and South Boston.

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Governor Tim Kaine speaking at the MBC Network Dedication	Attendees of the MBC Network Dedication	Governor Tim Kaine and Congressman Virgil Goode
Delegate Hogan and MBC Vice-Chairman David Hudgins	Governor Tim Kaine and Senator Charles Hawkins	Tim Pfohl, VTC Grants Program Administration Manager and John Stockton, MBC Board Member
Duane Dahlquist, MBC Chairman	Representatives from Adesta and RACO	Rob Karam, President/CEO of Consolidated Utility Services and Tad Deriso, General Manager of MBC