(August 2, 2011) – Cellcom announced plans today to build a fiber optic network from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay. The project will deliver high-speed Internet access, increase capacity for data services, expand the wireless network and prepare the network for wireless 4G technology in the future.
The Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) is confident that the enhanced Internet speed and reliability will attract new businesses and further energize the area’s business climate. “This deployment in Door County will give us the opportunity to market our area as a fiber-driven business community,” said executive director William Chaudoir. “Working with Cellcom on this project has been a very positive experience for us. We greatly appreciate Cellcom’s investment in our community and commitment to improving our infrastructure.”
DCEDC and Cellcom joined forces with city and county representatives to plot a fiber route that will run through the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park and pass the hospital, shipyards and other high-demand users that could benefit from this ultra-high broadband service.
Pat Riordan, president and CEO, notes that the project demonstrates Cellcom’s continued commitment to serving rural areas. “In recent years, other companies wanted to bring fiber optic cable and high-speed Internet capabilities to Door County and increase capacity. However, the proposals required either public funding or financial support from the county or city.” Riordan notes. “Cellcom is proud to bring high-speed Internet and increased reliability to the area, without passing on the cost to local residents or businesses.”
Work on the first leg of the route, which runs from Wequiock to Brussels, began in March and is approximately 50 percent completed.
Michels Communications has been awarded the contract to build the cable route for the second phase of the project, which will bring fiber from Brussels to Sturgeon Bay. Cellcom has also contracted with Holtger Bros., Inc. for approximately three miles of the route, which will begin at Oregon Street and 4th Avenue in downtown Sturgeon Bay, run across the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and end at S. Duluth Street/CTH S. To complete this portion of the route, Cellcom has a partnership with the Sturgeon Bay Utilities to utilize their underwater duct, and with Door County to attach cable to Sturgeon Bay Utilities’ poles.
The company anticipates the construction will be wrapped up by late October, and Cellcom will then add optics to the route. Cellcom expects the fiber optic network to be fully operable by the end of the year. The final stage of the project will be to extend the network to Gills Rock.
“Our customers’ data usage continues to climb,” Riordan said. “By increasing the fiber optic capacity to all of Cellcom’s cell sites, we will be in a prime position to continue to meet consumer needs today and well into the future.”
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Cellcom’s renowned network is customized to their rural markets and customers. Cellcom is a sister company of Nsight Telservices and a subsidiary of Nsight, a provider of national communications services with more than 70 retail and agent locations throughout Wisconsin and Michigan. For more information visit www.cellcom.com.