Chatfield, MN –Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. (HBC) says it will accelerate the construction of the company’s high-speed fiber-optic network in Chatfield.
With aerial construction and more than 850 homes & business locations completed, officials at HBC said construction of the final underground portion of the project is now underway with plans to have the network completed by November.
”Our goal is to have all of the necessary infrastructure construction finished before the ground freezes,” said HBC President Dan Pecarina. “The coronavirus pandemic forced us to move forward more cautiously than we had intended this year, but we believe we have the right systems in place to allow crews to safely work in this new environment.”
According to HBC Director of Technical Operations, Michael Barker, contractors have already begun conducting boring operations that will put the fiber-optic cable underground.
“We now have contractors working in several neighborhoods,” said Barker. “We’ve been making good progress. If we have some good weather and it doesn’t get too wet, we should be able to finish the project by the end of November.”
Both Pecarina and Barker said residents will be able to have access to the high-speed network as construction is completed in each neighborhood.
“Having access to a reliable high-speed broadband network is so important,” said Pecarina. “Now more than ever, people are relying on their connection to work from home and learn at home and with speeds available up to one Gigabit, those connections have never been faster.”
