TDS® announces the ARRA broadband stimulus project in Chatham is nearly complete; 96 percent of customers in stimulus-funded area can now sign up for high-speed Internet service.
For more information contact: Cindy Tomlinson, Associate Manager-Public Relations / TDS Telecommunications Corp. / 608-664-4471 / cindy.tomlinson@tdstelecom.com
TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) announces its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus-funded broadband Internet project in Chatham, Mich. is now accessible to nearly everyone living in the area.
“I’m proud to announce that 96 percent of people living in the stimulus funded area around Chatham have access and can now sign up for high-speed Internet service,” says Dave Wittwer, president and CEO of TDS. “This is an exciting day for our customers and our company. Chatham was the first stimulus grant we received. It’s also where we broke ground first. Now, it’s the first place where more people can sign up for a high-speed Internet connection.”
The stimulus-funded area that is not yet complete (near Au Train) should be finished and accessible to customers by summer.
Just over 125 miles of fiber optics cabling was installed and 29 cabinets (which protect the advanced network electronics) were placed throughout all five of TDS’ Chatham Telephone Company exchange areas to provide high-speed Internet access to more residents.
You may recall, in December 2009, the Rural Utilities Service, a department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced TDS would receive a grant to expand broadband Internet services in the Chatham area. In total, TDS received 44 ARRA grants to expand broadband Internet service to people and businesses in 20 states across the country.
Nationwide, more than 93 percent of TDS customers already have access to high-speed Internet service. TDS is intent on providing as many remaining customers with broadband connectivity as possible. According to TDS, federal stimulus funds are helping to close the gap and deliver Internet connectivity to many more customers.
For more information, visit http://www.tdstelecom.com/stimulus.
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NOTE: For a map showing areas impacted by ARRA stimulus funding, contact Cindy Tomlinson, cindy.tomlinson@tdstelecom.com.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) is the seventh largest telecom provider in the U.S. For more than 40 years, the company has been connecting people with high-speed Internet, phone, and TV entertainment services in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities across 31 states. Today, TDS has more than 1.1 million equivalent access lines in service and 2,700 employees. Business customers select from the latest technologies, including: VoIP (managedIP) phone service, dedicated Internet, data networking, and hosted-managed services. Visit http://www.tdstelecom.com or http://www.tdsbusiness.com for more information.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. also manages the operations of VISI Incorporated, TEAM Technologies, OneNeck IT Services Corp., and Vital Support Systems through TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC. These companies employ more than 500 people, who specialize in engineering and management of IT infrastructure, including: hosted application management, managed hosting, enterprise cloud services, and Tier III data centers. Visit: http://www.visi.com, http://www.team-companies.com, http://www.oneneck.com, and http://www.vitalsupport.com for details.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. headquartered in Madison, Wis. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS]. A Fortune 500® company, Telephone and Data Systems provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular [NYSE: USM], its majority owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 12,300 people as of June 30, 2012. Visit http://www.teldta.com for investor information.
