ROCK HILL, S.C. – ( February 11, 2014 ) – This morning Comporium announced that it has begun the design of a new, state-of-the-art fiber-optic network that will provide ultra-fast internet service to Rock Hill’s “Knowledge Park.”

Named Zipstream, the service will provide internet speeds of 1,000 megabits per second (mbps) – or one Gigabit – to downtown Rock Hill by this summer, and will be offered to new businesses and residents of the Bleachery area as it is developed.

Zipstream Comporium Broadband In December 2013 Comporium’s affiliate in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Home Telecom, announced that it would provide Gigabit services to MeadWestvaco’s new Nexton community in Summerville. Downtown Rock Hill will join Nexton in becoming the first two Gigabit communities in South Carolina, and, for Rock Hill, the first in both the South Carolina Upstate and Charlotte metropolitan areas. In fact, Comporium believes there are less than two dozen Gigabit communities in the United States at this time.

Zipstream will provide both upload and download speeds of 1 Gbps. That is almost 85 times faster than Comporium’s standard internet service. While the obvious benefits of this speed include lightning-fast movie downloads and incredibly rich on-line games, the biggest immediate benefits will be seen by the businesses that will call Knowledge Park home – businesses that need to transmit very large data files (e.g., graphics, video, complex designs). Because of Zipstream, Sora-Phelps, the master developer of the Bleachery property at the heart of Knowledge Park, will be able to target businesses in a variety of high-tech and information technology fields.

Comporium is matching Zipstream’s state-of-the-art technology with an equally aggressive price. Zipstream will be available to residents of Knowledge Park for $99.00 per month, and to businesses for $299 per month. For that price business will receive additional services such as service level agreements (SLAs) and additional email storage space.

“Knowledge Park is an exciting economic development plan that is the result of an unprecedented level of collaboration and coordination between Comporium, other Rock Hill businesses, Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation, Winthrop, York Tech, and others,” said Bryant Barnes, president and CEO of Comporium. “We are very pleased to be able to offer Zipstream in Knowledge Park to help ensure that the area becomes a recognized hub for recruiting, launching and growing high-impact technology businesses.”

Zipstream is dependent upon a state-of-the-art network that contains three things: 1) all-fiber delivery, 2) cutting-edge network equipment, and 3) a robust path to the internet backbone that can carry significantly larger amounts of data than is carried today. For this reason, Zipstream will initially only be available in Knowledge Park. Specifically, Zipstream will be available on Main, Black, and White Streets between Old Town East and Dave Lyle Boulevard, and along White Street between Dave Lyle and the Bleachery. Comporium looks forward to bringing Zipstream to the Winthrop campus in the near future.

One of the first buildings to be offered Zipstream will be the Citizen Building, home to the Technology Incubator at Knowledge Park, which supports the formation and development of technology companies, and The Hive, an internet marketing, communications, and technology training program.

About Comporium
Comporium is a privately-held, diversified technology and communications company that focuses on exceeding its customers’ expectations with technologically advanced services that make customers’ lives easier. It is invested in companies that focus on data, switching, transport, storage, and intellectual property that recognizes the emerging importance of a connected world. For more information, please visit www.comporium.com