UC2B is a consortium between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the cities of Champaign and Urbana that received federal and state grants to build a fiber optic network throughout the community. The network provides up to 1 Gbps symmetric internet access to over 200 community institutions and 4,800 primarily low-income homes in 11 census blocks. UC2B operates as an open access network, treating all data equally and requiring network neutrality. It offers the community innovative research and a testbed for new applications using its fiber infrastructure and growing number of gigabit customers.