The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation newsletter (The Ranger) reports…

Mediacom Communications Corporation constructed a new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network to the Wynne Ridge Rock N Pines residential area. The project involved 25 unserved households within White Township and a portion of Biwabik Township near Giants Ridge Recreation Area. Wynne Ridge residents can now connect to Mediacom’s Xtream internet service that delivers download speeds of up to 2Gig and upload speeds of up to 1Gig. The Wynne Ridge network was built using an advanced 10G broadband platform that delivers multi-gigabit speeds while supporting higher reliability, high security and low latency.
Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $65,000 Broadband Infrastructure grant to White Township. The total project investment was $180,165.
“Our new 10G platform is future-ready,” said Jason Janesich, Mediacom’s director of area operations. “The fiber network deployed in the Wynne Ridge neighborhood has more than enough capacity for today’s data needs, and capacity for future needs as well.”
The project was initiated after White Township received a petition from a group of Wynne Ridge residents whose homes were unserved by broadband or high-speed internet service. There is high speed broadband infrastructure throughout the Giants Ridge Recreation Area, but there was a pocket within Wynne Ridge that was unserved and dependent upon slow and unreliable satellite internet service. The geographic gap and lack of service posed significant challenges to the residents who work remotely from home, area business owners, educators and students. In response to the petition, White Township partnered with St. Louis County and Mediacom to proceed with construction of FTTH.
“Our township is very grateful for not only the financial support provided by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, St. Louis County and Mediacom, but also for the leadership and collaboration of everyone involved,” said Jodi Knaus, White Township manager and clerk. “This project is a great example of what working together across different agencies regionally can accomplish. The Township Board of Supervisors will continue to collaborate with area leaders bringing broadband infrastructure projects to underserved areas in the township.”
Mediacom is a leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Mediacom has offered Gig-speed internet to Minnesota residents in all areas of its 48-county service area for more than six years. In addition to Wynne Ridge, Mediacom’s fiber-based network delivers Gigabit-speed broadband service throughout St. Louis County including the communities of Aurora, Biwabik, Buhl, Chisholm, Eveleth, Gilbert, Hermantown, Hibbing, Hoyt Lakes, Kinney, McKinley, Mountain Iron, Proctor and Virginia; and in parts of Fayal, Midway, Solway and White Townships. Nearly 25% of Mediacom’s broadband customers choose to use 1 Gig speeds, and the company is transitioning its network to a 10G platform.
Learn more about Mediacom.