The Delaware Area SuperHighway (DASH) has been jogging since its inception in 2007.

It plans to break into a sprint in February or March.

The public-private consortium was formed to encourage installation of a fiber optic cable in Delaware County.

The goal will become a reality when Consolidated Electric Cooperative puts the finishing touches on a cable, jointly owned with the county, that runs 16 miles from the city of Delaware to DataCenter.bz, an Internet and data business at 535 Scherers Court in Worthington.

Fiber-optic allows ultra high-speed Internet connections capable of sending and receiving one gigabyte per second.

“We are still in the midst of construction,” said Consolidated CIO Doug Payauys. “We need a couple of railroad permits and we’re dealing with their time frame rather than ours.”

Delaware County paid $665,000 to participate. Consolidated, also an electric power provider, has laid 150 of an intended 180 miles of cable in Delaware, Licking, Knox, Richland and other central Ohio counties. It, too, needed to connect with DataCenter.bz. Hence the joint venture.

“DataCenter.bz provides access to multiple Internet and telecommunications carriers,” Payauys said. “That’s where savings can be realized. When the county gets to the carrier, there will be competition for its business.”

County data center director Stephen Lewis said the fiber optic cable is proving to be something of a field of dreams. “It kind of is like, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ We went out for bids two weeks ago. Our cable runs directly down Orange Road to our wastewater treatment plant. It’s a no-brainer for Orange Township to connect with the cable providing that the cost to do so comes in at a reasonable price. The township hall and fire station 361 on Gooding Boulevard are right at the cable.”

The county has also asked the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Delaware County District Library if they would like to connect to the fiber-optic cable.

Payauys said fiber optic is considered “future proof” in the telecommunications business.

“The fiber-optic cable is like Interstate 71. You build it wide so cars can go fast on it. But if you want to go faster, you buy a better car. You don’t build a new highway. The fiber optic cables are expected to serve customers for 25 to 30 years. Of course, every three to five years, the electronics will have to be changed out if you want to maximize your speed.”

Lewis said he expects the cable, when operative, to save the county more than $4,000 per month.

Meanwhile, Payauys said Consolidated has hired a salesman to begin selling access to its fiber optic cable.