Schuylkill Haven residents will soon have another option available for high speed internet. At the Feb. 21 borough council meeting, an agreement with WeLink was approved, allowing the company to bring its services into the borough to compete with existing services.
Borough administrator Jessica Seiders called the move very good news. She saidthe borough was approached as part of a select group to participate in an opportunity to provide wireless broadband.
Seiders said the fiber infrastructure is already in place on utility poles in town, with the only remaining step being attaching radio transmitters to the poles to transmit the broadband.
“The agreement permits WeLink to proceed with that equipment installation in town along with deployment,” Seiders said, explaining that the service will be broadcast to 4 square miles of Schuylkill Haven with three levels of speeds.
WeLink CEO Luke Langford identifies his company as a next-generation wireless provider that takes existing connectivity and then uses wires “to take it the last 1,000 feet to customers.”
Langford said the goal is to have the product available by the middle of the year.
“We will ramp up our business to go out and hire people in the area to complete installs on the pole sites within the next three to four months,” he said.
“We compare very favorably” with competing internet service in the area, Langford said, with prices ranging from $65 to $85 depending on speed.
“We have been in discussions with a variety of partners,” he said. “A group introduced us to Schuylkill Haven as a forward-thinking community. We have been looking to expand to smaller communities to demonstrate we can work well there as well.” Currently, WeLink is available mainly in larger cities like Las Vegas; Phoenix; Washington, D,C,; and Tucson.
In other business, Rep. Tim Twardzik and Sen. David Argall will be holding a hard-to-read license plate event on July 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Borough Hall. A police officer will be available to sign off on paperwork. The program is designed to speed the replacement process for anyone with a hard-to-read license plate due to age or damag.
Fire police assistance for a school PTO Chinese Auction was approved for March 22 and 23.
The North Ward Social Club has been approved to use the Willow Street Playground for an Easter egg hunt on March 16 at 10 a.m. with a rain date of Mar. 23.
An electronic recycling event in the borough will be held May 11 with fees and information posted on the borough website (schuylkillhaven.org).
The deadline for the Hometown Hero Banner Program applications is March 1. Seiders says the borough has received 40 applications so far.
Resident Kayla Smith requested information on how she can take a lead role in revamping the Naffin Street Playground.
Maria Wolfe with the Council of Churches questioned utility billing for high water usage due to a leak, as the organization provides utility assistance.
Resident Ruth Tucci, who works with Schuylkill Haven senior citizens, says she is looking into a bigger space for seniors.
A Community Development Block Grant hearing was held before the meeting to discuss allocation of funding for the Willow Street Playground.
Source: Berkshire mont
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