ION awarded $39.7 million to build 1,300 mile broadband fiber network

ION HoldCo, LLC, a partnership majority owned by Sovernet Communications (a subsidiary of Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNI)) along with twelve independent rural telephone companies in New York, announced it has received a federal broadband stimulus grant of $39.7 million to augment its existing 2200 mile fiber network with 1,300 miles of additional fiber-optic middle-mile broadband network.

The project, the ION Upstate New York Rural Broadband Initiative, will be completed in partnership with the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) and will enable high speed Internet access to underserved communities throughout upstate New York, along with parts of Vermont and Pennsylvania. An additional $9.9 million will be invested in the project by ION and DANC...