Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband: Breaking Ground into the Future

UC2B is an intergovernmental consortium of the University of Illinois and the cities of Urbana and Champaign dedicated to building and operating an open-access fiber-optic broadband network throughout the Champaign-Urbana area. The project is made possible by a $22.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The State of Illinois provided a $3.5 million grant and local matching funds added an additional $3.4 million to fund the project.

The foundation of the UC2B network will be the fiber-optic “backbone” infrastructure that will be constructed with the grant money. The grant also will provide “fiber-to-the-premises” (FTTP) connectivity directly to well over 150 Community Anchor Institutions throughout Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy and to households in serval underserved neighborhoods in Champaign and Urbana.

This video is a joint production of Urbana Public Television and Champaign Government Television.  It was filmed at the UC2B groundbreaking ceremony on September 6th, 2011.  It showcases comments from community leaders and the groundbreaking ceremony in its entirety.