CU finds SpringNet Underground buyer

City Utilities of Springfield has parted ways with its high-speed data management company’s data center.

Bluebird Network LLC purchased the assets of SpringNet Underground for $8.4 million after the Board of Public Utilities approved the arrangement Dec. 4. The sale officially closed today, according to a news release.

“SpringNet Underground has been a successful business venture for SpringNet and City Utilities. However, when faced with the need for expansion and weighing the cost options, we feel that this divestiture is the best option for the utility and our customers,” CU General Manager Scott Miller said in the release. “During the transition phase, our staff will work with Bluebird Network to support the customers as we have since SpringNet Underground was developed and want to remind our customers that this only impacts the data center of SpringNet and not the overall broadband business.”

Established as a secure data center in 2002, SpringNet Underground has 84 customers.

Columbia-based Bluebird Network has renamed the center Bluebird Underground. The telecommunications company provides 6,000 route miles of high-speed broadband and fiber optic connections in the Midwest, according to its website.