EAGLE RIVER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) – Highspeed internet is not always a reality for people in the Northwoods.
Soon, 700 more homes and businesses in Vilas County will be connected.
Spectrum just announced its completion of a $1.1 million project to install fiber-optic cable in the towns of Lincoln and Washington. Residents there will be able to sign up for service as soon as next week.
Lawmakers are praising the expansion. State representative Rob Swearingen: “We know how important broadband is to the Northwoods. We know it’s important to education. We know it’s important to people coming up here to do business. It’s important for tourism. You have to have broadband. People used to come here to get unplugged, but that’s not the case anymore. So this is a really big thing for us here in Vilas County.”
Swearingen joined state senator Mary Felzkowski and other community leaders at a Spectrum celebration on Thursday.
Felzkowski said the project demonstrates the importance of public-private partnerships. “Not solved by government, solved by private companies. When a company is willing to lay fiber right to the home, that’s great.”
As this project wraps up, several other projects to expand broadband are just beginning in Vilas County.
The county was recently awarded $5.4 million to expand internet access in Arbor Vitae, Conover, Presque Isle and the Town of Washington.
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