The Florida Rural Broadband Alliance will have broadband middle mile complete by August 2012

The Florida Rural Broadband Alliance announced they will have completed the middle mile broadband network by August of next year.  In fact, they may complete their part before that deadline.

They made their announcement at a summit held at Chipola College.  The event was hosted by Florida Representative Marti Coley.

The “middle mile” is a segment of the internet network that acts like a backbone, stretching hundreds, if not thousands of miles carrying internet traffic.  Sixteen rural counties in the northern and central part of Florida will be on this middle mile, ready to be connected.

The “last mile” segments connect the backbone to the communities of users.

Opportunity Florida is one of the partners in the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance.  Opportunity Florida’s Executive Director Rick Marcum has an interesting way of explaining the middle mile and last mile internet segments.

He compares the middle mile segment to an interstate highway, carrying lots of traffic.  The last mile is like the interchanges (on-ramps and off-ramps) allowing traffic from the internet to travel to and from the communities and homes.

Rapid Access is one of the companies that will be providing some of the last mile access in Jackson county and other areas.  Another company, Main Street Broadband is covering Bonifay, Chattahoochee, Chipley and Marianna.  Both of these companies have already begun to install equipment in preparation for the arrival of the middle mile segment.

Rural communities in the Florida panhandle and middle Florida will surely welcome the access to high speed broadband services.