Frontier Communications Recognized at 2015 NY State Broadband Summit and Awards Ceremony
June 12 2015 - 10:25AM
Business Wire
Frontier receives “Economic Leadership
Award” for broadband initiative with Hamilton County that fosters
job growth, enhanced quality of life; and “Most Innovative
Broadband Project Award” for creativity in helping the Town of
Thurman “get connected” with white space broadband
Frontier Communications [NASDAQ: FTR] was honored last night at
the 2015 New York State Broadband Summit and Awards Ceremony in
Albany. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Frontier among the
winners of the New York State Broadband Champion Awards that
recognized leaders whose efforts expand broadband access across the
state.
Frontier received two awards: The “Economic Leadership Award”
for its broadband initiative with Hamilton County, bestowed for the
successful implementation of an innovative, economically promising
project to enhance the county’s social and economic fabric and
quality of life; and the “Most Innovative Broadband Project Award”
for its creativity in helping the Town of Thurman connect to the
Internet via white space technology.
“We are thrilled to be recognized for our commitment to making
broadband available even in the most rural areas,” said Ken Arndt,
East Region President, Frontier Communications. “Both initiatives –
in Hamilton County and the Town of Thurman – are great examples of
public/private partnerships bringing together expertise, resources
and leadership focused on the betterment of local communities. This
is true collaboration that delivers outstanding benefits for
everyone involved, especially local residents and businesses.”
Frontier Communications and Hamilton County partnered -- with
private capital from Frontier and a Connect NY broadband grant for
Hamilton County -- to provide enhanced high-speed Internet service
to all communities in the county. “As a result of the project,
75 percent of the households in a 1,700 square mile portion of the
Adirondack Park now have access to speeds of 12 to 40 Mbps,” noted
Kevin Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of
Frontier’s New York operations.
“For the initial phase of this project, Frontier upgraded the
data transport backbone between Gloversville and Eagle Bay,
enabling speeds up to 40 Mbps from the enhanced sites. We upgraded
Frontier’s main switching sites in the hamlets and then in the
second phase, we connected 17 remote switching sites using 430,000
feet of fiber optic cable. We also upgraded these remote sites with
IP DSLAM devices (Internet Protocol Digital Subscriber Line Access
Multiplexer). This Ethernet-based equipment addresses the
increasingly bandwidth-heavy needs of customers, both residential
and commercial,” added Smith.
William Farber, Chairman of the Hamilton County Board of
Supervisors who secured the New York State broadband grant, said:
“This project showcases the benefits of the great partnership
between Hamilton County, Frontier Communications, and New York
State, working jointly to enable one of the most rural counties in
the country, let me say that again, one of the most rural counties
in the COUNTRY, to move into the 21st Century and enjoy the social
and economic benefits that high-speed Internet delivers. The
Governor, through both the REDCs and through his commitment to
rural broadband, is making a real difference for Hamilton County's
long term prospects!”
For the Town of Thurman broadband initiative, Frontier’s local
team faced a unique challenge. “First, the town of Thurman is not
part of Frontier’s service area. Second, Thurman is a very rural
area that makes traditional broadband service via DSL
cost-prohibitive, and satellite broadband too expensive and
unreliable,” said Todd Rulison, General Manager of Frontier’s New
York North area.
Local community leaders advocated for white space technology –
the unused broadcast frequencies in the wireless spectrum -- to
provide broadband. Unlike satellite broadband, white space service
travels through trees and other terrain obstacles, making it a good
choice for Thurman’s rural geography. Evelyn Wood, Town Supervisor,
secured a New York State broadband grant to fund the start of the
project. Still missing, however, was the way to connect to the
Internet.
Knowing Frontier had a fiber optic cable running through one
side of Thurman, municipal officials approached Frontier. “We had
to get creative. We built and leased to the Town of Thurman a
circuit providing dedicated Internet access to which Thurman now
connects its white space technology,” said Rulison. “This is a
great example of government and private business coming together to
find resourceful and innovative solutions to benefit communities.
It was also an opportunity for Frontier to enable people outside
our service area – non-Frontier customers – to enjoy high-speed
broadband and all it offers, from emailing to streaming videos to
downloading photos and running e-commerce.”
Commenting on the partnership, Wood said: “Kudos to Frontier
Communications for demonstrating their true commitment to helping
people ‘get connected.’ The local team didn’t hesitate to join our
partnership, despite knowing that they would not be adding to their
customer base since they don’t serve our area. They leveraged their
expertise, time and talent to deliver a creative solution, and
we’re thrilled to have them as part of our Thurman white space
broadband team.”
About FRONTIER
COMMUNICATIONS
Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR) offers
broadband, voice, video, wireless Internet data access, data
security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for
residential customers, small businesses and home offices and
advanced communications for medium and large businesses in 28
states. Frontier's approximately 17,800 employees are based
entirely in the United States. More information is available at
www.frontier.com.
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Frontier CommunicationsPatricia Amendola,
570-631-6013Communications ManagerPatricia.Amendola@ftr.com
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