TDS Telecommunications celebrated the start of construction on a major Dane County rural internet upgrade project with a ceremonial groundbreaking in Black Earth. According to a Thursday, Aug. 14 company news release, the project will deliver at least 100 Mbps internet to more than 5,500 rural addresses in communities across the county, including Verona.
All addresses included in the project will receive at least 100 Mbps internet with multi-gig speeds available in some locations. The first customers are expected to receive the upgrade by the third quarter of this year, with some locations gaining up to 1 Gigabit service.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard was joined by local and area officials and state representatives.
“Being the fastest growing county in the state, we welcome even more reasons for people to come to live, work and raise their family,” she said. “It shouldn’t matter where you live in Dane County, you should have access to high speed internet and we appreciate all the work that’s being done to get us there.”
The nearly $15 million project is due to TDS investment and the Federal Communication Commission’s Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model program, which provides funding to deploy and support 100/20 Mbps or faster broadband service to some of the most rural geographies in TDS’ footprint. Construction recently started on the new infrastructure, with contractors accessing public utility easements to install conduit and fiber-optic cables, as well as upgrading aerial cables.
TDS services will become available to customers in phases as construction progresses.