North Country Broadband, a division of Mohawk Networks, has the green light to extend high-speed broadband service to most of Lewis County, after a successful pilot program, reported the Watertown Daily Times. The company was awarded $6.4 million through the state’s New NY Broadband Program, to bolster its expansion efforts and will begin the project this spring.
The rollout plan, slated for completion over the next three years, includes installing transmission equipment on all nine county towers (in spring 2018), then later erecting 63 repeaters wherever additional coverage is needed. Once the project is completed, up to 97 percent of the county could be covered by wireless internet service.
“Hopefully between now and spring, they’re going to have their equipment on our 911 towers,” said County Manager Ryan M. Piche of Mohawk Networks.
Additionally, according to Piche, officials plan to contact 17 area towns with hopes of assisting Mohawk Networks in identifying and securing potential repeater sites. The county and Mohawk Networks also worked together to ensure that the wireless broadband equipment would not negatively impact the emergency radio system.
Regarding financial obligations, the county provided space on its towers at no cost during the pilot program but beginning in 2018, North Country Broadband will pay $1 per month for each customer served under a lease agreement. According to county attorney Joan E. McNichol, the company will also provide internet service as a backup to the county system and cover half the cost to plow snow from the tower sites.
November 6, 2017
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