Access to a future-proof fiber infrastructure

Our broadband infrastructure, launched by Bristol Virginia Utilities in 1998, is known as BVU OptiNet. Initially designed for internal communications among the BVU’s electric substations, the fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network was extended first to schools and government offices and then to commercial and residential customers.

Through grant funding and shrewd partnering, BVU now boasts an all-fiber backbone and 800 miles of fiber-optic cable that loop from Bristol to Wytheville to the West Virginia state line and westward back to Bristol.

BVU OptiNet’s voice and data services are transported on multiple, diverse 2.5 Gbps protected rings – providing immediate redundancy or re-routing of information if a pathway is broken. This capability vastly reduces the possibility of lost or diverted data.

With BVU OptiNet’s use of standard IP/Ethernet delivery for data services, businesses can easily and cost-effectively connect existing networks to the Internet or extend LAN services between branch offices. 

BVU OptiNet partners with major telecommunications companies to give business customers double and even triple broadband redundancy as needed.