Two companies have won contracts to provide high speed internet service to underserved areas of St. Lawrence County.
The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is matching their proposals on a 1 to 1 basis to make the projects affordable.
Ridgeview/Tel, LLC, Longmont, Colorado, will provide service to areas in Morristown, Black Lake, Waddington, Madrid and Norfolk, at a cost of $120,000. The company currently operates in Jefferson and Lewis counties.
SLIC Network Solutions will build high speed service for Brasher/Stockholm at a project costs of $60,000, again matched 1:1 by the Chamber.
The contracts mean the first phase of the Chamber's Broadband Initiative is now underway with completion set for the fall, said Chamber executive Pat McKeown.
Former Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton obtained $196,000 in funding for the Initiative.
"Our county is huge and very distant from the centers of economic power. Enabling our people to have high-speed Internet service will begin to level that playing field," McKeown said.
RFPs went out in February to 10 regional Internet service providers.
The Development Authority of the North Country is serving as technical consultant to the venture.
