Enventis, an affiliate of HickoryTech, organized a groundbreaking event in Duluth, Minnesota, to commemorate the start of the company’s Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the $24-million project was attended by Minnesota Lt. Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, personage from Minnesota Senator Al Franken’s office, HickoryTech executives, Duluth Mayor Don Ness together with the Duluth Chamber of Commerce members, Duluth business, Angela Simpson from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and local residents.
John Finke, HickoryTech’s president and chief executive officer, said that the company is moving ahead with creation of the 430-mile fiber network in Superior, Wisconsin and in northern Minnesota. He also added that after completion, the Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project will supply new broadband access to business and institutions of all sizes and types.
As section of the NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), Enventis received $16.8 million in grant in August 2010 for the project. The company will provide extra $7.2 million for the project. Enventis has already started constructing the fiber network in July in Superior, Wisconsin and in northern Minnesota, and it has completed roughly 50 route miles of the 430-mile project. John Finke said that the company is expecting to complete the fiber network project in 2013.
Source: http://www.hickorytech.com/