On Wednesday, employees of the Finksburg-based Leading Technology Solutions had begun work on the network's so-called backbone, rising to the tops of utility poles in the Westminster area in a bucket truck to string along black lines filled with 216 fiber strands.
The crew was reeling about 18,500 feet - about 3.5 miles - of line off a giant wheel sitting at Routes 32 and 97.
Some fiber will be placed underground, said Eric Bathras, senior project manager with Skyline Network Engineering LLC, an Eldersburg company chosen as general contractor.
Wack and others said they believe the promise of speedy fiber could lure new business - and jobs - to Carroll. They hope the public infrastructure will create opportunities for private fiber use, with the county possibly leasing lines to private telecommunications companies interested in providing services to residents and businesses.
The county has sought to reduce the numbers of residents who commute elsewhere to work.
"We've got to have tools in place that will enable us to do that," said Lawrence Twele, director of economic development. "Fiber is certainly one of those. ... It overcomes the perception that maybe we're not so far away."
It also aligns with his department's general effort to provide the necessary infrastructure and opportunities for businesses to locate in Carroll, Twele said.
Such access could enable telecommuting, especially with gas prices on the rise, Wack said. Companies might contemplate smaller, more widespread operations, Twele added, whether self-initiated or in response to work-force demands to be closer to home.
"The future of economic growth in Carroll County isn't going to be any traditional sort of stuff. It's going to be white-collar jobs. It's going to be technology-driven," Wack said. With fiber, "every aspect of the county becomes more marketable."
arin.gencer@baltsun.com
