Spring is finally here, which means that we’ll start to see more activity from Spectrum and their contractors.
As you might have heard, we are not the only town in Vilas County that partnered with Spectrum to win a grant from the Wisconsin PSC. Woodruff, Lincoln, Cloverland, and Conover were also awarded grants by working together with the Vilas County Economic Development Corporation (VCEDC). Why is this important to Presque Isle?
To deliver high speed broadband to Vilas County, Spectrum must connect to their nearest internet point of presence (POP) in Rhinelander. A POP is where providers like Spectrum have a major connection to the global internet, so a regional area like Vilas needs to connect there. Spectrum has installed fiber along Highway 47 to connect to existing fiber along Highway 70E. From there, they plan to cover the four towns – Woodruff, Lincoln, Cloverland, and Conover – in 2023.
To get to Presque Isle, Spectrum must install a transport fiber (a high-capacity link) from the Sayner area across CTH N to CTH M and then north to the intersection of CTH M and CTH B. This work will be done in 2023, estimated to be finished in early Fall. From here, Spectrum will begin to install the fiber network that will service homes, starting in the east and working west. It is possible that some of local work will begin before the transport fiber is in place, but we do not have a schedule at this time.
What can you do to help make the project move along? If you live on a private road or Spectrum needs to cross your private land, they must obtain easements to allow installation of the fiber. This is just like the easements that Excel Energy, WE Energy, brightspeed, or WPS must obtain when they are installing utility services. Spectrum will be contacting property owners to grant the easements, so the quicker those easements are granted, the faster Spectrum can provide service to Presque Isle. While in the past granting an easement might have come with some financial incentives to the property owner, Spectrum’s position is like that of other utility providers in that value of the service they are providing is more than enough to warrant granting an easement. Blocking an easement not only negatively affects the value of your own property, but it also affects the other property owners on your road. Thanks in advance for expediting any easement approvals if you are contacted by Spectrum.
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