A crew from Slic Network Solutions installs fiber-optic lines for a new broadband network on Bloomingdale Avenue in the village of Saranac Lake in June 2017. (Enterprise photo — Chris Knight)

SARANAC LAKE — Nearly two years after village officials agreed to fund a new fiber-optic broadband internet network downtown, work on the project is finally underway.

In the last two weeks, crews from Nicholville-based Slic Network Solutions have been installing fiber on existing utility poles. They’ve also set up an active wireless internet hotspot in Riverside Park, one of five planned in public areas around the village.

Installation of the fiber will wrap up in August, when customers will be connected to the network, said Kevin Lynch, Slic’s chief operating officer and vice president for technical operations.

“Once the fiber is up and spliced, we’ll begin signing up businesses and consumers who want our internet and telephone services,” Lynch wrote in an email. “We will be sending direct mail and visiting in person the businesses we’re able to serve and detail our service offerings.”

In July 2015, the village Board of Trustees agreed to sign a $125,000 contract with Slic to string 3.15 miles of fiber on existing utility poles, mostly downtown, branching off from a fiber-optic “backbone” installed by the Development Authority of the North Country. The network will include more than 100 business and more than 350 households.

Progress on the project stalled, however, due to several factors, according to village Mayor Clyde Rabideau.

“They got a much later start than anticipated,” he said. “I guess there were some issues in gaining utility pole access. That took a long time. Then there was some corporate changeover in the past year, a new management team.”

Like all infrastructure work, Lynch said fiber-optic-based broadband construction is a “complex endeavor requiring careful planning, engineering and significant coordination.”

“We worked with several different agencies, utilities and strategic partners to design and integrate our plans into the existing infrastructure of the town,” he said. “This work takes time and is very detail oriented. We are pleased to be at the point in this project were the effort is visible and we look forward to serving the community.”

Lynch said the design and engineering of the network started immediately after his company signed with the village. Construction preparation work started last fall when SLIC applied for access to poles owned by National Grid and Verizon.

“We also worked with the Development Authority of the North Country to access some of the fiber that they already have in Saranac Lake,” he said.

The fiber network will serve parts of Main Street, Broadway, Church Street, Bloomingdale Avenue, St. Bernard Street, Dorsey Street, Woodruff Street, McComb Street, James Street and Virginia Street.

“We’ll offer a variety of speeds — up to 1 gigabyte per second — which enables businesses to take full advantage of cloud-based services and applications,” Lynch said. “All of our connections are synchronous as well — that means uploads are as fast as downloads — which none of our competitors can match. For qualifying businesses, we will also offer free wireless hotspots on a separate dedicated connection.”

As part of the deal, Slic will provide service at the village offices in the Harrietstown Town Hall, the Saranac Lake Police Department, the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants, the Department of Public Works, the Saranac Lake Youth Center, Adirondack Medical Center and the lodge at Mount Pisgah Ski Center.

Lynch said the free wireless access points, in addition to Riverside Park, will be William Morris Park, Berkeley Green, the Lake Flower boat launch and Mount Pisgah.

Rabideau said Slic’s service will serve as good competition for existing internet providers in the area, like Spectrum (formerly Time-Warner Cable) and Verizon.

“More competition is good for business, good for the customer, and our village residents who are the customers will have more options,” he said.

Asked if Slic plans to expand its fiber network beyond the downtown, Lynch said the company doesn’t have specific plans, “but we will evaluate opportunities as they arise.”