Central UP Getting Broadband From TDS, Stimulus
The area around a small town in the Central Upper Peninsula will be getting broadband data service soon under a grant from the federal stimulus.
Madison, Wis.-based TDS Telecommunications Corp. will be breaking ground in Chatham on the company's first broadband expansion stimulus project.
The project, approved for funding by the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, will help more residents gain access to a high-speed broadband connection.
The groundbreaking ceremony, featuring remarks from TDS president and CEO David Wittwer, is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17 at 1:30 p.m.
A map of the service area is at www.tdstelecom.com/MediaRoom/maps/Chatham_MI.pdf.
In August 2009, TDS submitted 13 applications for broadband funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In December 2009, TDS was awarded an $8.6 million grantfrom the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utility Service (one of the two federal agencies administering the federal broadband stimulus program) to expand broadband access in Chatham. Engineering firms were selected and announcedin February 2011, and now construction is getting under way.
