Tidal Network is scheduled to break ground for construction of its first permanent wireless internet tower on Feb. 19.
Tidal Network is the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida’s broadband internet service company. After receiving a $50 million federal grant to construct 20 towers across Southeast, the company pinpointed Wrangell as the host site for its first tower.
The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the 3-Mile location where the tower will be constructed. The “groundbreaking” ceremony will be mostly symbolic: Tidal Network officials will simply scoop a couple of heaps of dirt from the plot of land that will hold the new tower. Director of Tidal Network Chris Cropley said the ceremony will be brief, though the thank yous will be plenty.
“Very low key. No food, no fireworks, just a really quick 45 minutes.”
Cropley added that he’s shooting for a 90-day turnaround time, from the moment ground is broken to the moment the tower goes live.
Currently, the company leases space on two cell towers near downtown. It has been using the existing 4G equipment to test the Tidal Network wireless technology and remove any bugs before the upcoming wider release.
After the testing phase, Tidal Network will open up its services to the public. Cropley hopes the public, paying-customer launch will happen before the new tower goes online.
Once it goes live, a home internet plan will be available for purchase at TidalNet.com. The company recently set its rate at $89.99 a month, though Cropley hopes to be able to drop that price as the provider expands across Southeast.
Users will need a small antenna on their home or office, which Tidal Network will provide and install.
Mountainsides disrupt the wireless high-speed broadband signal, and the new tower at 3-Mile is intended to broaden the service reach beyond the downtown area.
Though the groundbreaking ceremony is largely symbolic, as recently as last week it looked like the team wouldn’t even be able to scoop a couple mounds of dirt out of the ground.
“We were going to have to bring in dirt,” Cropley laughed.
The reason: The grant that Tidal Network received came with environmental stipulations. The internet provider had to wait for the go-ahead from an environmental team before even touching the 3-Mile plot, located just up the hill from Zimovia Highway. But after receiving approval on Feb. 12, the ceremony, development of the land and construction of the tower were all good to move forward.
One requirement the environmental team insisted on was that the plot needs to be developed before April. Cropley isn’t worried about that timing. The environmental team set the timeline because it didn’t want any bird nests to get cut down during the land development phase of the project.
Once the land is developed, the 120-foot-tall steel tower will be assembled. The tower is currently on the way and will arrive by barge within the next month.
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