Westelcom and The Development Corp. work together for broadband infrastructure

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January 1, 2008

By DAN HEATH The Press Republican Tue Jan 01, 2008, 02:16 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — One of the newer pieces spurring interest in the Banker Road Business and Technology Park is its high-speed fiber infrastructure.

Westelcom Communications and The Development Corporation have worked together to install a second phase of fiber-optic infrastructure at the park.

The network was funded in part by two Empire State Development Wired Building grants

Development Corporation President Adore Kurtz said the matching grant was for $40,000, half from The Development Corporation and half from Empire State Development. It was used to run fiber and copper infrastructure along the eastern edge of Banker Road.

The network will be used to offer high-speed service to the United Parcel Service (UPS) building and to about 50 acres to the north of that facility.

“We partnered with Westelcom on the first and second phase. I think it is good for us, them and our prospects,” Kurtz said.

Development Corporation Facilities and Projects Manager Keith Matott said the first phase involved creating a high-speed hub in Building 14, the Home Bistro building.

“From that hub, we can serve the whole industrial park with high-speed Internet and communications. That’s a great benefit.”

In a press release, Westelcom Service Operations Manager Tom Trombly said, “We are excited for the opportunity to support The Development Corporation and the Banker Road Business and Technology Park in order to further the goal of sustaining economic growth in the park via a high-speed fiber network.”

Westelcom Director of Marketing Krista Boule said their goal is to “set our region apart in comparison to other rural areas of New York, to make us more attractive than the typical rural region to industries looking to expand their operations into new locations and to create technology-based jobs for northern New York.

“The fiber network will allow for crystal-clear voice, video conferencing and allow for (use with) future technological breakthroughs without having to update the park’s wiring.”

Westelcom has buried both fiber and copper lines throughout Plattsburgh and the park. Those can be used for a myriad of communication and information-technology applications.

Empire State Development’s Wired Building grants can be used for design, engineering, material and labor costs of upgrading infrastructure to high-speed capability.

The Banker Road Business and Technology Park has been growing by one building a year for five years.

Its features include easy access to Interstate 87 via routes 3 and 374, New York State Electric & Gas natural-gas lines and Town of Plattsburgh water and sewer service.

It is the home to UPS, Home Bistro, Rideau Recognition, Mission ITECH Hockey and Medisca.

Westelcom is a subsidiary of Chazy and Westport Telephone. It offers phone services, telephone systems, computer networking and branch-office connectivity, Web design and hosting, as well as data services including broadband Internet, off-site data storage and backup and firewall security.

E-mail Dan Heath at:

dheath@pressrepublican.com