In recent months, cities and neighborhoods around the country like Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Skye Canyon in Las Vegas have flaunted their 1-gigabit Internet service, which provides residents with some of the fastest web-based connection in the country.
A new project in Fort Worth, Texas, will double this speed. Walsh, a 7,200-acre neighborhood under development in west Fort Worth, will feature a minimum of 2-gigabit Internet speeds in homes and schools. Developer Republic Property Group says residents won’t see an internet bill for this state-of-the-art service because costs will be covered by HOA dues.
Homes at Walsh will be connected to the extensive fiber network from day one and home builders including David Weekley, Drees, Highland, and Village Homes will break ground this month, with presales beginning in early 2017. Homes in the neighborhood’s initial phase will be priced from the upper $200s. At completion, Walsh will feature more than 15,000 homes and a community of 50,000 residents.
Taking the Internet speed even higher, 10-gigabit service plans will be available to future corporate campuses and residents who wish to upgrade their 2-gigabit bandwidth at affordable rates. “There will be very real, immediate benefits in education, community safety, for residents and to future businesses and medical centers,” says Tony Ruggeri, co-CEO of Republic Property Group.
Among the first to benefit from technological advances at Walsh will be students attending a new Aledo ISD elementary school, set to open for the 2017-2018 academic school year. The award-winning school district intends to support a STEAM curriculum at what will be the first of as many as eight future elementary schools located in Walsh neighborhoods.
“Forward-thinking investments in technology like those seen at Walsh will be a great economic catalyst for creating new jobs and attracting corporate relations to Fort Worth,” says Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. “We’re excited by what the power of 10 gigabit fiber internet at Walsh will mean for current and future Fort Worth area residents.”