Mediacom Communications last week announced plans to extend its high-capacity broadband network to hundreds of commercial properties in the Jefferson City and Columbia area.
Known best for its residential internet and cable service, Mediacom is focusing its expansion efforts to target commercial customers, said Tom Larsen, senior vice president of government and public relations.
The initiative, called "Project Open Road," is part of Mediacom's plan to invest $1 billion over the next three years to, among other projects, upgrade and expand its national broadband network, according to a news release.
Larsen said the company will begin contacting local property owners in the coming months about right-of-entry agreements allowing Mediacom to build in wires to the buildings at no cost to the owners.
Weather permitting, the company hopes to begin construction of new lines in spring 2017.
Areas targeted for improvement include businesses along Missouri Boulevard as well as some pockets of downtown Jefferson City, Larsen said.
"It could be as simple as extending a couple hundred feet from an existing network into an existing building, or it could be doing a couple-mile loop down a commercial street that we're not located in today," he said.
The project is "an example of Mediacom's overall mission to drive economic growth in the markets it serves by providing the high-capacity broadband tools that businesses need to be successful," said Dan Templin, senior vice president for Mediacom Business, in the news release.
The expanded access to Mediacom's internet service will drive economic growth by enhancing the value of commercial buildings, connecting the properties with high-quality communications services, Templin said.
Mediacom announced the debut of its highest-speed residential internet service with download speeds of 1 gigabit per second in Central Missouri last fall, and that service will be available to businesses that grant Mediacom right of entry. The Jefferson City/Columbia area remains Mediacom's only market in the country with residential Gigabit service, Larsen said.
Interested property owners can see more information about Mediacom's "Project Open Road" online at mediacombusiness.com/roe.
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