The nation's newest open access network opened for business this week - Palm Coast FiberNET in Florida. This network is intended to serve businesses and is not currently a FTTH build. The network uses the City of Palm Coast's fiber assets:

The City of Palm Coast is making its high performance fiber network available for business and commercial use in Palm Coast. The goal of this effort is to create business opportunities for private sector service providers, lower the cost of telecom and broadband for local businesses, and to help attract new businesses and job opportunities to the City. Broadband connections to businesses will provide Internet access, a wider variety of telephone, videoconferencing, and other business class services.

The opening ceremonies (a cutting of the fiber) were covered on Office Divvy, who noted that the network currently has two providers and a plan to connect most businesses in town over the next two years. Services to their facility will be up in early June.

This is a similar approach as used in several networks in Virginia, including the Wired Road, and nDanville. Rather than trying to build citywide all at once, these networks expand as opportunities arise and funding is available.

Clarification: The City has already expanded its fiber assets to create this network; the post should not be read as the City merely leasing fiber it already had.