iPCS Wireless to offer high-speed Internet to nearly all Ottawa County residents by June

An expected 95 percent of all Ottawa County residents will have the option to subscribe to high-speed Internet access by June. Before the system was expanded by iPCS Wireless, at least 35 percent of county residents did not have access to high-speed Internet service, county officials say.

According to excerpts from the story:

The county today announced its high-speed wireless network is close to completion. Once the last two towers are working, 95 percent of county residents will have high-speed Internet access, said Paul Sachs of the county's planning department.

It's been a long wait for some Ottawa County residents who could previously only reach the Web through dial-up connections. At a cost of $59.99 a month, the wireless network is nearly 21 times faster than dial-up.
 
In February 2008, the county announced its current partnership with iPCS Wireless, which required no taxpayer dollars. In exchange for providing the $1 million broadband expansion, county officials helped iPCS jump through permitting and zoning hoops.
 
Sachs is unsure how many people have signed up so far through iPCS, but he said between 10 and 20 residents call the county each week to ask about it. Before iPCS began expanding the network, Sachs estimated 35-40 percent of the county didn't have high-speed Internet access.

So far, iPCS outfitted 30 towers with broadband technology. Additional towers in Olive Township and Port Sheldon Township are expected to be in operation by May 31. Even after those two towers are up, the system could still expand to service the rest of the county.
 
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