News
Town offices in a New York State community will now receive free internet thanks to a new public-private partnership.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
The Town of Woodstock, in New York’s Ulster County, has reached an agreement with Archtop Fiber that will provide free internet to town offices and a public Wi-Fi hotspot.
Archtop recently began construction on a 100 percent fiber-optic network in the community. According to Archtop’s Oct. 1 release, the company hopes to begin rolling out services in Woodstock by the end of October.
The network construction now accompanies a memorandum of understanding reached between Woodstock and Archtop.
In the agreement, Woodstock will lease space to Archtop Fiber in the town’s police department for the purpose of housing some of the internet service provider’s equipment.
In exchange, the town will receive free internet at town offices and a public Wi-Fi hotspot, the release explained.
Woodstock Town Supervisor Bill McKenna called the partnership a win-win.
“We are pleased to have a mutually beneficial relationship with Archtop Fiber that benefits all of our citizens,” McKenna said, according to Archtop’s release. “The increased speed and reliability of fiber, combined with the free public hotspot, will unlock new opportunities and drive growth for this community.”
Woodstock is not the only community in the area Archtop has signed a memorandum of understanding with. The provider, based in Kingston, New York, says it now has several similar agreements with communities across Ulster County.
“Time and time again, Archtop continues to demonstrate its commitment to bridging the digital divide and bringing the latest tech to underserved communities,” said Jeff DeMond, the chairman and CEO of Archtop Fiber. “We are thrilled to have the support of the Town of Woodstock as we begin construction of our state-of-the-art network in the area.”
A summary of Archtop’s operations reveals that the company has launched services in the New York communities of Kingston, Saugerties, Rhinebeck, and Warwick. Additionally, Archtop is working on expansions in Massachusetts, in the communities of Pittsfield and Hudson, the summary stated.
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