Lewis County and ToledoTel held a kick-off meeting for their public-private partnership to expand high-speed internet services in and around Winlock.
A $23.5 million grant from the Washington State Broadband Office will pay the way for internet service to eventually be extended to over 2,300 homes and
businesses. ToledoTel will now begin engineering and design of the project, plus provide an additional $2.35 million in matching funds towards the project.
The Lewis County commissioners’ resolution accepting the state grant stated, “The broadband services from this project will be a game-changing boost to
Winlock area’s growth, economic development and quality of life.”
“There’s the convenience, there’s business purposes; all those are really vital and becoming more and more a part of everyday life, and we want to
provide those services to everyone in Lewis County that we can,” said Lewis County Manager Erik Martin. “This project is really the beginning, in terms of
getting service out to folks, and we want to focus on getting broadband out to all rural areas and all residents of Lewis County.”
At the completion of the project, which is expected to run through 2026, the county will own the broadband infrastructure and ToledoTel will use the fiber
optic lines to assist in connecting businesses and homeowners to internet service.
For more information on efforts to promote broadband: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/.../washington-statewide...
Photo: From left, Lewis County Budget Administrator Becky Butler, County Manager Erik Martin, ToledoTel VP/COO Dale Merten, and County Housing &
Infrastructure Specialist Eric Eisenberg.
Original source can be found here.
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