Black & Veatch Incorporates New Approach To Underground Utility Management
Kansas City, MO - Black & Veatch announced that Charles Hill, Regional General Manager of the company's Telecommunications Division, has been selected to present details of a broadband infrastructure master plan for the Kansas City Live Entertainment District during DistribuTECH, a leading industry trade event held in Tampa, Fla.
Hill said the company's master plan, created for the City of Kansas City, Mo., will benefit local businesses and residents by promoting competition among providers, while reducing future underground construction needs that can impact service reliability. The new infrastructure concept also will benefit broadband service providers by minimizing their capital costs in the area, resulting in more competitive offerings for end-use customers.
"The master plan concept developed for the City of Kansas City, Mo., calls for the construction of a large, municipally owned telecommunications network in conjunction with current underground utility construction in the Kansas City Live Entertainment District, helping to minimize disruption to the area," said Hill.
Wayne Cauthen, City Manager for the City of Kansas City, Mo., said the City intends to create an improved approach to underground infrastructure for telecommunications providers beginning in the area where the Sprint Arena project is currently under construction.
"The city is taking a leadership role in providing opportunities throughout this area that will allow all telecommunications providers equal access to the area via a conduit infrastructure built and managed by the city. Our intent is to provide a long-term lease of a portion of this infrastructure to individual service providers at a reduced fee compared to the cost of building independent facilities," said Cauthen.
Kansas City is not the first U.S. city to build a municipally owned broadband network. Cities including Philadelphia, Dallas and Los Angeles also are positioning themselves as "Digital Cities" by providing broadband communications and scalable computing infrastructure for government, citizen and business use.
"A municipal-owned conduit network produces a win-win situation for the city and for its stakeholders," said Hill. "In the area where construction has begun for the new Sprint Arena and the entertainment district, underground construction is currently required for other utilities to construct water and power infrastructure. Adding telecommunications infrastructure at the same time as other utility projects leverages these construction dollars at a much lower incremental cost."
Hill will present details of the Kansas City Broadband Master Plan at DistribuTECH February 7-9 in Tampa, Fla. Hill's presentation will outline the benefits of planning and placing city-owned multiple conduits for telecommunication purposes during underground utility construction citing the Kansas City Live Entertainment District work as a real-world example.
SOURCE: Black & Veatch Corporation