New fiber-optic line almost ready in Dixie

ST. GEORGE — Dixie residents and business owners were in shock little more than six months ago when their telephones and computer connections suddenly went dark and stayed down for more than 10 hours.

The culprit, according to Qwest, was a cut fiber-optic line near Monroe. The outage, according to one St. George-based Internet service provider, emphasized the absolute need for Dixie to get a second fiber optic line up and running.

"We automatically direct our customers' traffic to the fastest connection, and reroute around trouble," said Randy Cosby, vice president of InfoWest. With only one fiber optic line running north to south along I-15, Qwest couldn't promise redundancy, or a second line, when the first isn't operating.

InfoWest should be tied onto a new, privately funded, fiber optic line within a week, said Gene Morris, president of Interlinx Communications in Sandy. Construction of the first phase of a high-speed redundant fiber optic line is now complete, and a second phase of the line should be done by next spring, he added.

"We're providing a diverse connection; another way in and out of Washington County," Morris said at the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce meeting Wednesday at Dixie State College.

Local developer Kay Traveller is backing the multimillion-dollar project, although he's not willing to disclose details.