BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — Slic Network Solutions, based in Nicholville, is set to expand residential phone and internet service to the village of Massena.

Slic Network Solutions COO Kevin Lynch made the announcement during the Massena village board meeting on Aug. 15, detailing the work being completed and services that will be provided to residents.

According to Lynch, Slic will soon be able to offer high speed internet and phone service to residents with the ability to port phone numbers as well.

“With our service you will be able to maintain the same number, we can port that to our service without issue,” he told board members.

Slic has already been offering services to the municipal offices and school district, however Lynch said the time was right to continue to expand services throughout the village.

“We have offered services to the school for a couple of decades and in the village and some other, mostly business, focused services for the last 10 years or so. We’ve done a lot with New York State grants that’s really allowed us to build our network and kind of get to an economy of scale where we can now invest,” Lynch said.

Prior to the expansion, Lynch said Slic had sought to serve those unserved individuals who may reside outside of the village and were unable to obtain high speed internet through other providers.

Lynch said one benefit of utilizing Slic services is the symmetrical delivery, meaning upload and download speeds are equal.

According to Lynch, cable based networks usually have good download speeds but upload speeds are significantly slower.

“That’s a great benefit for anybody who’s doing video conferencing up here. I think we’ve seen since the pandemic that a tremendous amount of people who have shifted to working from home,” Lynch said.

Residential plans will come in three tiers, with 100 by 100 megabyte speeds, 500 by 500 megabyte and one gig by one gig speeds.

Though Lynch said service will likely begin in mid-September for most residents, some areas may be slightly delayed since utility lines are buried underground.

“We haven’t started that yet, we’re working with public works to make sure we have everything in place to do that,” Lynch said.

Lynch also credited Massena Electric, saying that have been “an amazing partner for many years” and have been instrumental in the expansion project around the village of Massena.

According to Lynch, Slic is also taking precautions to ensure the ongoing project will not disrupt the lives of residents in the village.

“We will also notify all of the residents that we’re doing . . . to offer a chance to provide feedback. We don’t want to be unwelcome but it’s going to take a little bit of work in people’s yards to do every section there. So, we want to be good neighbors and good partners,” Lynch said.

Lynch said the project is slated for completion this fall in order to mitigate potential disruptions.

One benefit that Lynch spoke of is the federal connectivity program that Slic and other providers participate in.

“I don’t want to get the details wrong but essentially if you qualify for free or reduced lunch, WIC SNAP program or if you’re on social security disability income you can get a $30 credit toward your bill,” he said.

Lynch noted that the program will automatically credit a user’s account, meaning the end user is not responsible for fronting the money while waiting for reimbursement from the government.

“What’s nice about that one is it comes right off your bill and then the company is reimbursed, so the individual doesn’t have to worry about that reimbursement as soon as they qualify for it,” he said.

Lynch said the credit will automatically appear on the individual’s account.