Five locations in Ladoga will soon participate in a pilot program to boost the city’s high-speed internet access. The West Heartland Innovation Network has provided funding for the broadband fiber project. Preliminary reports from WHIN indicate promising results.
At Monday’s commissioner meeting, Montgomery County’s president, John Frey, said that testing is expected to take around 60 days. Assuming the service’s success thus far, Ladoga residents and companies will be able to sign up to receive it by the end of the year.
Equipment belonging to WHIN was installed atop the Ladoga water tower with the blessing of the town council. According to Frey, the service area is more than first anticipated.
“The system seems to be doing better than projected,”
“It seems to be working great and the coverage range is going out further than what was predicted.”
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Amy Cating, a local of Ladoga and company owner, has consented to serve as a test subject. Cating hopes to have WHIN conduct a site assessment shortly so that she can have internet fibre installed for her 106 E. Main St. company. Advantages of Broadband Cating has great hopes for what broadband internet will bring to her neighborhood, and not only for her business.
“This can be a great thing for our community,”
“It will be an improvement and hopefully attract new businesses and housing.”
Several firms have been granted permission to provide service in unserved rural areas, made possible by governmental funding for the expansion of broadband internet access in those areas. April Bradley, an employee for the municipality of Ladoga, stated that both Xfinity and AT&T have approached the town about setting up broadband service.
Even though Waynetown, another Montgomery County city, agreed to collaborate with WHIN over a year ago on a project like Ladoga’s, town officials had not been contacted for months. In recent months, the municipality has been approached by not one but two broadband providers, including Xfinity, asking to rent electricity pole space on which to lay broadband lines.
John Warren, who oversees utilities in Waynetown, said,
“We are hoping to have broadband as soon as possible,”
“Companies have called us who are working on bringing broadband to Waynetown. The whole process is a little frustrating because it seems to be moving along slowly. We are confident we will have broadband in Waynetown, we just cannot say when.”