The villages of La Grange and Western Springs are becoming more connected.
Fiber optic cable, which is as thin as a strand of hair, is being installed underground on Cossitt Avenue in La Grange by Wide Open West, a contractor that uses fiber optic lines to connect cell tower locations for cellular providers. The cell towers are often located on the highest structures in a town, such as a water tower.
La Grange granted the use of the right of way on Cossitt in 2015 to the company in exchange for also being able to use a portion of the cable to better interconnect its village facilities and to connect with the Western Springs Police Department.
The departments that will be connected in La Grange include Public Works, the Village Hall, the East Avenue pumping station, the police station, Tilden Water Tower, water standpipe, the La Grange Public Library and Lyons Township High School North Campus.
Public Works Director Ryan Gillingham said the village will save money by using the fiber optic cable for data transmission. It currently pays AT & T about $800 a month to transmit data on copper cable from two water towers to the East Avenue Pumping Station. That recurring expense will be eliminated when the village is using fiber optic cable.
He estimated that the village stands to save up to $25,000 a year by consolidating telecommunication and data transmission services.
Western Springs started laying its fiber optic network about 10 years ago. The network of about five miles of cable connects Village Hall, the Police and Fire departments, and the library.
Pat Schramm, director of technology for Western Springs, said phones, alarm systems and camera systems are connected via the fiber optic cable. In case of a disaster striking at a school, for example, police dispatchers would be able to access the school cameras to see what’s going on inside a building.
The system is backed up at two sites and data can be accessed in case of a disaster, such as a tornado striking Village Hall.
He said the cable allows workers to more swiftly access the Internet.
“We all chip in on in instead of everyone having slower Internet at a higher price,” he said.
Schramm said the cost of installing the fiber optic cable was minimal because the village used grants and worked out no-cost contracts with providers similar to the one La Grange has with Wide Open West.
The role fiber optics and better connectedness between the two towns will come into play when the villages consolidate this year into one central dispatch center, Schramm said.
Fiber optic cable is resistant to water, lightning and to wear and tear. It’s also quite thin.
“You could floss your teeth with it,” Schramm said.
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