When telecommunication was liberalized in the US in 1996, the Ohio city of Dublin began installing a network of underground conduit in partnership with a private company. The idea was to encourage private carriers to deploy broadband by saving them on installation costs. When the private sector was slow to act, the city installed its own optical fiber to connect city facilities – a common move to improve service and save money. They called the network Dublink.

Twenty-five years later, Dublink does much more than deliver city services. It has become a major engine of business attraction and retention. It is a backbone for Wi-Fi and fiber-to-the-home networks and brings supercomputing capacity to the city. It drives a diverse startup economy and helps power a regional development program attracting hundreds of millions in investment. 

Learn more

Learn from Dublin and 18 other communities in Connect Your Community to Opportunity, a discount bundle of courses in the Community Accelerator online training program. Dublin is profiled in Connectivity: Foundation of Digital Opportunity.

How did Dublin do it? ICF tells the story in an online profile – one of hundreds on our site that take you inside technology-centric development of communities that builds inclusive prosperity, strengthens societies and enriches local culture.

Communities accelerate by starting an Intelligent Community Journey. Each is different, but all follow similar paths. Start yours.