The Objective

The goal for The Brazos Valley Council of Governments project, located in Bryan, Tx., was to provide affordable high-speed internet to health care providers in rural Brazos Valley.

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Our Solution

We created COGNet, a fiber network made of two interconnected fiber optic rings that includes up to 96 strands of fiber spanning 350 miles of the Brazos Valley.

The design of COGNet included 3 determining factors:

1. The route that would be used
2. Procurement of all required permits from local, county, and state governments
3. Procurement of all required permits to work with Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railroad, and the Texas General Land Council

Method Used

For this project we decided to use the "Directional Bore" method in order to facilitate the placement of a duct package which included 2 to 6 HDPE pipes. These pipes were utilized for the placement of 24, 48 and 96 strands of fiber optic cable.

In order to enhance signal strength, the design provided for 11 regeneration sites that house the electronics in secure, pre-constructed concrete buildings along the northern and southern rings. These shelters are designed to withstand Category III hurricanes and are equipped with backup generator systems to provide for uninterrupted service of the fiber optic rings.

Outcome

The project was successfully completed in June of 2020. We are excited that we were able to create a solution, the COGNet network, which will support the needs of the health care across 7 counties in east-central Texas for many years to come.

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