Broadband Access

Google the Adirondacks Contest

In less than two weeks in March, 2010, a team of local community leaders spearheaded a very credible Google contest for the Tri-Lakes, while energizing and gaining consensus among six local governmental entities (the towns of Harrietstown, North Elba, and Tupper Lake and the villages of Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, and Tupper Lake), often not known for working together cooperatively in the past. Kansas City won the Google contest for installation of super fast broadband. However, AdkAction's initiative helping the Tri Lakes file an application was a big win and work continues to extend and improve broadband in the area.

Since the conclusion of the contest, the Google the Adirondacks has continued to foster community awareness about the importance of high speed broadband access to the future financial viability of the Tri-Lakes. Working on the project are the Trudeau Institute, Adworkshop, Adirondack Broadband, the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, Clarkson University, the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce, CBN Connect, the Development Authority of the North Country and the High Peaks Education Foundation. With leadership from AdkAction.org, Inc.'s chair, Dave Wolff, the team is now taking the lead in an effort to make affordable broadband access available to all households in the Tri-Lakes by working with Time Warner to produce a detailed map of the area's broadband coverage. Our goal is to determine the design and costs associated with broadband build-outs, prioritizing routes, and ultimately finding sources to fund construction. Keene's model for extending broadband to almost 100% of that community is being used as a template.