TDS® announces engineering firms selected to begin local broadband stimulus projects
Progress continues to connect thousands of customers to high-speed Internet in twenty states by 2013
TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) announces it has selected and hired four engineering firms to implement its broadband network designs which were completed by TDS Network Services teams and recently approved by the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
The professional engineering firms selected are:
MEComm Consultants, LP
For projects in: Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New York.
Joseph D. Fail Engineering Co., Inc.
For projects in: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.
CHR Solutions, Inc.
For projects in: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Rocky Mountain West Telecom (dba RMWT)
For projects in: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Washington.
“We selected these firms based on their experience, attention to quality work, and ability to execute our designs with professionalism and speed,” says Larry Boehm, director of Network Implementation and Optimization for TDS. “We made a commitment to taxpayers to complete this work within 36 months and these firms and their many skilled employees and subcontractors will ensure we meet that commitment.”
In total, the four firms will be working with TDS and other equipment vendors to complete approximately $136 million in projects nationwide by the end of 2013. TDS received two full broadband deployment grants and 42 grant/matching fund projects from the RUS. A total of 44 projects are currently underway. TDS will be investing $30,874,560 along with investments from RUS totaling $105,122,535 bringing the broadband investment total to $135,997,095.
For more information and details about the areas TDS received RUS funding to expand broadband access, visit http://www.tdstelecom.com/MediaRoom/StimulusFunding.aspx.