fiber optic network has added voice communications

The Business Times Fiber optic network operator expands with voice services

Phil Castle The Business Times

A company that operates a fiber optic network across Colorado and 20 other states has added voice communications to the services available to businesses and other customers. Unite Private Networks (UPN) provides what’s branded as FiberVoice to the communities the firm serves, including the Grand Valley. Like other services UPN offers, FiberVoice Matthew Grippen is tailored to meet the needs of customers and accommodates their equipment, said Matthew Grippen, director of sales training. At a time when a pandemic has made businesses even more dependent on internet and voice services, the

Steven Davis reliability and quality of those connections have never been more important, Grippen said.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., UPN operates a fiber-optic network with 10,000 route miles of fiber serving a total of more than 300 communities. The

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has submitted a hemp management plan certifying the state has the resources and staffing to carry out the practices and procedures of the plan. “It provides a valuable roadmap for building a successful and sustainable hemp industry in Colorado based on our state’s unique insight and knowledge,” said Kate Greenberg, agriculture

Kate Greenberg commissioner. Working with the offices of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Colorado Department of Agriculture submitted the plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The plan addresses various aspects of managing the state commercial hemp industry, including use of third-party approved laboratories and approved samplers for variety testing, options for discipline waivers and post-harvest testing company offers high-speed internet access and related services to businesses as well as schools, hospitals and government entities.

UPN initially installed a fiber optic network in the Grand Valley for Mesa School District 51, but subsequently expanded the network from Palisade to Loma to serve other customers.

The company has offered voice services in some markets for a few years, but plans to extend those services in 2020 to all of the areas in which it operates.

The expansion means customers have access to internet, data and voice services on a fiber optic network, said Steven Davis, manager of voice engineering.

Grippen said FiberVoice works with a variety of telephone systems. That includes traditional single and multi-line analog systems as well as private telephone networks used within a company or organization. UPN also offers cloud-based hosted services.

Davis said a fiber optic network offers more reliable and higher quality voice services than those available from other networks.

Customer service remains a priority for UPN, and technicians are available to offer assistance or resolve any issues, he said.

Gribben said FiberVoice and other UPN services enable businesses to better adapt their operations to the pandemic, including businesses whose staffs work remotely.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

For more information about FiberVoice and other services available from Unite Private Networks, contact Stephen Fullerton, account director for Colorado, at 985-9167 or stephen.fullerton@upnfiber.com. Information also is available from the website at www.uniteprivatenetworks.com.

Colorado submits hemp management plan

F under certain parameters.

Stakeholders statewide were involved in developing the plan, including farmers, processors and product manufacturers as well as academic institutions, financial services providers, government agencies, health care professionals and law enforcement.

“With our experience administering a hemp program in Colorado for the past five years, we were able to bring together leaders with expertise in every link of the hemp supply chain to help us understand the challenges we face in helping the industry to grow,” said Brian Koontz, industrial hemp program manager for the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Colorado was one of the first states to implement an industrial hemp program, expanding to more than 87,000 registered acres and 5,539 registrations.

For more about the plan, log on to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/ default/files/Colorado%20State%20 Plan%20-%20Plan%20Document%2006- 18-2020.pdf. F