Merit Lights REACH-3MC II Network from Cadillac to Mio, Gaylord to Mackinaw City, Grayling to Kalkaska

Merit has announced the completion of three key segments of the Round II REACH-3MC network build-out: Cadillac to Mio, Gaylord to Mackinaw City, and Grayling to Kalkaska. Merit has completed construction on the segments and activated optical network equipment that is used to "light" the newly installed fiber to provide service.

The fiber-optic cable lit is part of the Round II REACH-3MC "mainline." Led by Merit Network, the goal of REACH-3MC is to construct fiber-optic infrastructure that connects communities together. In the process, Merit connects community anchor institutions (schools, libraries, health care, government, public safety) by way of "laterals," or spurs, from the mainline.

An additional 13 community anchor institutions have received lateral connections along the completed network segments. The laterals have 1...Continue reading "Merit Lights REACH-3MC II Network from Cadillac to Mio, Gaylord to Mackinaw City, Grayling to Kalkaska."

Passing the Test - Fiber-Optic Testing on the REACH-3MC Network

   By Greg Monroe
   May 21, 2013 9:24 am

Now that we've buried the conduit in the ground and hung the strand on poles and even installed the fiber itself, the next step for REACH-3MC is to undergo testing to ensure the fiber was installed properly and the network is ready for production traffic. So as students across the state prepare for their final examinations before the summer recess, at Merit we're readying the REACH-3MC fiber to pass a test of its own.

A standard in the fiber construction industry, newly installed infrastructure undergoes OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) tests to measure its functionality. It's not quite as complicated as it sounds. An OTDR device is a tool that connects to one end of a fiber optic network...Read more »

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