1Gig Launched in St. Lawrence County, New York
Edwards, Hermon, Russel and DeKalb areas in St. Lawrence County now have access to speeds nearly 100 times faster than national average.
Earlier today, TDS Telecom (TDS®) announced the launch of internet speeds, up to 1 Gigabit, to about 1,330 addresses in parts of Edwards, Hermon, Russell, and DeKalb, New York. The speeds, among the fastest in the country, are part of a fiber-to-the-home project funded by TDS and New NY Broadband Program grants.
Today’s announcement focused on the completion of the first two rounds of the three-round build-out in the Edwards area. To date, TDS has installed more than 180 miles of fiber-optic cable in the Edwards Telephone Company footprint and added 14 Fiber Distribution Hub cabinets to house key network components. The state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure now delivers internet speeds from 100 Mbps up to 1 Gigabit (or 1,000 Mbps). Work continues on the final phase of the project, which will connect about 390 additional Edwards-area addresses and is expected to be completed in mid-2019.
“We were so pleased to have the state of New York’s support to extend our fiber network,” said Scott Brooks, at TDS. “Area customers are the real recipients of this public-private partnership, bringing faster, more reliable internet service to residents and businesses in some of the most rural parts of the state.”
“On behalf of New York State, congratulations to TDS on the launch of its high-speed broadband service in several St. Lawrence County markets in partnership with the New NY Broadband Program,” said Jeffrey Nordhaus, Executive Vice President for Innovation and Broadband at Empire State Development. “Fast, affordable internet service is a key priority for New York, and state-of-the-art broadband systems create greater economic opportunity for New Yorkers, ensuring that no community is left behind.”
TDS was awarded approximately $21.5 million statewide as part of the New NY Broadband Program and TDS is investing nearly $13.5 million. The projects in Edwards, Hermon, Russell, and DeKalb are among nine grants TDS is completing with support from the program. Other grants will impact residents and businesses in the Township Telephone Company, Deposit Telephone Company, and Port Byron Telephone Company footprints.
About the New NY Broadband Program
In 2015, New York State established the $500 million New NY Broadband Program, the largest and most ambitious State broadband investment in the nation. The Program provides New York State grant funding to support projects that deliver high-speed Internet access to Unserved and Underserved areas of the State, with priority given to Unserved areas, libraries and educational opportunity centers. The Broadband Program Office at Empire State Development, New York’s chief economic development agency, administers the program.
Since 1973, TDS has been providing customers in New York with telecommunications services. For more details about TDS’ service, including the newly available 1Gig service, visit tdstelecom.com or call 888-CALL-TDS.
