Paul Ehrfurth wasn’t mincing words.
“This is huge,” the executive director of the Oconto County Economic Development Corp. said Thursday after the state Public Service Commission approved a $600,000 state grant to expand internet broadband access to nearly 4,000 households and 107 businesses in several northern townships in the county.
The state grant will be matched by Bertram Communications, of Random Lake, which plans to construct five towers and lease space on two existing towers to boost internet speeds by five to 10 times current rates within the next 12 months, according the grant application.
“This is one of the most significant (economic development) projects in some time” in the county, Ehrfurth said. “I’m thrilled and overjoyed we received this award. I wasn’t expecting that we’d be the largest one in the state, but I’m certainly happy with that.”