RidgeviewTel, DANC eye stimulus aid

Lawmakers in Lewis and Jefferson counties soon will be asked to support a joint application by a state authority and a private company for federal stimulus package funding to expand a fiber-optic network.

RidgeviewTel and the Development Authority of the North Country could apply for as much as $25 million to expand fiber connections, but James W. Wright, DANC executive director, said Thursday that the amount sought is still a "moving" number.

If funding is secured, most of the network expansion will take place in St. Lawrence County, Mr. Wright said.

"Lewis is next, and Jefferson has the smallest portion. That is very consistent with areas of underservice," he said. "I'd say $25 million would be on the high side."

RidgeviewTel, Longmount, Colo., plans to establish an open access wireless network, allowing other telecom companies to provide service through its fiber connections.

The funding would allow a 175-mile fiber line expansion, and 50 wireless points of presence would be constructed in the three counties.

"Based on E911 data and market statistics, the number of homes passed by the wireless POPs is 31,475, or approximately 27 percent of households in St. Lawrence, Lewis and Jefferson counties. We estimate this includes approximately 80 percent of the unserved areas in the three-county region," the proposal's executive summary says.

The St. Lawrence County Legislature's Operations Committee on Monday unanimously agreed to support the application.

The Legislature's Information Technology Committee had heard proposals from telecom providers seeking stimulus funds or planning to expand, including Time Warner Cable, WestelCom, Slic, WavHost and TDS Telecom. RidgeviewTel's proposal emerged as the most comprehensive, said Legislator Laura J. Perry, D-Hopkinton, IT Committee chairwoman.

IT Committee member J. Patrick Turbett, D-Potsdam, who also is a DANC board member, said RidgeviewTel's proposal was most in line with the IT Committee's vision for broadband Internet deployment.

"It will give other providers the ability to use the new infrastructure so they can expand," he said. "That's important, because the real problem everybody has with public versus private is that private shouldn't have to compete with publics that are getting public dollars, and vice versa."