HEBRON, Ind., May 26 /PRNewswire/ — Northwestern Indiana Telephone Co. plans to increase high-speed broadband speed to 100 percent of its customers within one year, achieving a federally mandated requirement three years earlier than the federal government’s deadline, the company announced today.
Under the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal government has made it a national priority to expand broadband access and adoption in rural communities throughout the U.S. by 2014.
Under the initiative, broadband must meet a minimum combined upload and download speed of 5Mbps.
“NITCO will perform the needed infrastructure and technological improvements on its own to increase its customers high-speed broadband services in a much quicker time frame than imposed by the federal government,” said NITCO Chairman and CEO Rhys Mussman. “We will be working diligently to utilize the latest versions of DSL, fiber, and WiMax technologies to achieve and exceed these upload and download speed standards.”
NITCO provides local and long-distance telephone and high-speed broadband services in rural northwest Indiana. NITCO’s territory encompasses approximately 12,000 residences and businesses across more than 281 square miles and includes the communities of Hebron, Roselawn, Demotte, Lakes of the Four Seasons and Mt. Ayr. The third-generation, family-owned company has served northwest Indiana since the early 1900s.
“NITCO is committed to its customers by providing the latest technologies and unmatched customer service,” Mussman said. “With our planned improvements in high-speed broadband, we’re once again demonstrating our commitment to our customers and our ability to provide state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technologies in northwest Indiana.”
Northernwestern Indiana Telephone Co. (NITCO) is an Independent Local Exchange Company located in northwest Indiana. NITCO provides local and long-distance telephone and high-speed data services, serving rural communities including Hebron, Roselawn, Demotte, Lakes of the Four Seasons and Mt. Ayr. A family-owned business today in its third generation of family ownership, NITCO is the last remaining local exchange carrier in the Chicago LATA. For more, visit www.nitco.com.
