New Berlin will soon get an all-new fiber-optic service

Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
Workers for Eau Claire-based Underground Systems Inc. bury fiber-optic cable in Hager City. A similar system by TDS Telecom is already under construction in Brookfield, Wis., as the company initiates a plan to install its growing work in neighboring New Berlin.
Workers for Eau Claire-based Underground Systems Inc. bury fiber-optic cable in Hager City. A similar system by TDS Telecom is already under construction in Brookfield, Wis., as the company initiates a plan to install its growing work in neighboring New Berlin.

NEW BERLIN - TDS Telecom has the city on the fast-track to high-speed internet in a marketing push that will also include television and phone services.

In an environment largely dominated regionally by Charter Communications' Spectrum brand, TDS Telecommunications LLC has already set foot in the area, beginning with a new all-fiber optic system now nearing construction in the city of Brookfield.

For TDS, a Madison-based firm that started as a small telephone service provide, it's an opportunity to find new markets in the right communities, including places like New Berlin. For residents and businesses, it represents an alternative to existing digital services, including from mobile data providers. New Berlin residents can get up to 2Gig internet speeds and businesses can get up to 10Gig with TDS.

"We are excited to grow our presence in Waukesha County," said Drew Petersen, TDS senior vice president of corporate affairs, in a company issued statement. "With this multi-million-dollar private investment, we will help improve a key part of the community’s infrastructure and better connect New Berlin residents and businesses."

TDS, which began offering services in Wisconsin in 1969, is trumpeting the technology it uses to deliver its services.

The fiber-optic network, which the company says has been called "the “gold standard of residential internet connections," relies on a system that is still only available to less than half of U.S. households, citing information from the Fiber Broadband Association.

That puts New Berlin residents in New Berlin in a select group, TDS says.

Construction in New Berlin is expected to begin later this year. Work in Brookfield is on track to begin in late summer or early fall, the company says.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison company plans new fiber-optic system in New Berlin