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We have all been there - logging into an online meeting for work, streaming a movie for entertainment, playing a game with our peers, trying to submit a school assignment, and "boom" our internet connection freezes or stops. For most larger city dwellers, this challenge has become a thing of the past. Still, poor internet service or the inability to use Wi-Fi is a frequent and recurring issue for those who live in smaller towns.

Realizing the severity of the issue, Chisago County officials stepped up. They awarded funds through infrastructure grants, to bring world-class internet services to residents. After renewing numerous options and providers, the county selected HomeTown Internet to bring much-needed services to Shafer Township, Franconia Township, and Amador Township. HomeTown Internet focuses on bringing affordable, high-speed Internet service. 

"After an exhaustive review of all available options, while considering the time and cost to resolve the situation, we decided to partner with HomeTown Internet," said Owen Kuhnly, Franconia Board Chairman. Kuhnly continued, "HomeTown Internet has made a significant investment alongside the county and Franconia to bring their services to our residents - it is a true partnership that shows they genuinely care about helping our residents today and for the long term. Something rare to find in today's world." 

"We are thrilled to partner with the County and the Townships they serve," said Sam Ashkar, General Manager for HomeTown Internet. "The powerful and highly reliable infrastructure we provide, supported by our tech partner Ceragon Networks, is much more cost-effective and faster to deploy than competitive fiber solutions. 

“Many of our employees live in the same communities we serve, and while we provide world-class technology and affordable prices, the cornerstone of our business is hometown service." 

Marie Rivers, owner of Sven Shoes in Chisago City, said, "I was HomeTown Internet's first installation. My POS (point of sale system for credit card transactions) was not reliable, and I had to use phone service dial-up when my internet slowed or went offline. After installation, my service immediately shot up from 9 Mbps download with my old provider to 122.53 Mbps with HomeTown Internet. The installation was fast and smooth, and I liked the service at my business so much that I installed it at my home.  We have been up and running for over a year now, and I am thrilled."

Ashkar continued, "There are countless residents that share similar success stories using our service. We owe a special thanks to Nancy Hoffman for the introduction to Chase Burnham, Chisago County Administrator, who referred HomeTown to the Townships.  And the commissioners who then voted unanimously to allocate the grant funds. 

The following officials should be recognized for their incredible support and commitment to improving the quality of life for their constituents:"

Jim Swenson, County Commissioner District #1

Rick Greene, County Commissioner District #2

Marlys Dunne, County Commissioner District #3 Vice Chair

Ben Montzka, County Commissioner District #4 Chair

Dan Dahlberg, County Commissioner District #5

"We thank Chisago County for their vote of confidence and look forward to being of service as we roll out our offering," concluded Ashkar. 

Residents interested in HomeTown Internet service should visit the company website to confirm if they serve their specific business or residential address. The website also includes a handy usage calculator to see how much bandwidth you need, a test to check the performance of your current service and a competitive comparison with other providers. Their website is located at www.hometowninternet.com

Hometown tech partner, Ceragon Networks Ltd., is the global innovator and leading solutions provider of 5G wireless transport. Customers' quality of experience with innovative wireless backhaul and front haul solutions. Our customers include service providers, public safety organizations, government agencies, and utility companies, which use our solutions to deliver 5G & 4G broadband wireless connectivity, mission-critical multimedia services, stabilized communications, and other applications at high reliability and speed.

Ceragon's unique multicore technology and disaggregated approach to wireless transport provides highly reliable, fast-to-deploy, high-capacity wireless transport for 5G and 4G networks with minimal use of spectrum, power, real estate, and labor resources. 

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