According to a document provided to county officials by Mohawk Networks, dated March 11, the company cited the Dec. 31 deadline to complete phases 2 and 3 of the project, grant constraints and the reimbursement structure as reasons for their action.
According to the Lewis County zoning board, Mohawk Networks has pulled current and future zoning applications.
On Feb. 14, Mohawk’s document said, the company’s Board of Managers notified the Empire State Development Broadband Project Office of their decision to stop their work because the two entities had failed to find solutions to the company’s issues.
“Empire State Development was unable to provide any flexibility in identifying a solution,” the document said. Mohawk Networks said they have already invested $1.3 million in the project without an agreement on grant disbursement.
The document said the project cost has “nearly doubled” because of the increasing costs of steel and the cost and time challenges of acquiring tower sites. The document also listed “topography” as a reason for the price increase without further explanation.
Mohawk officials said they believe they are being expected to carry all of the financial risk involved with the project without any agreements in place, saying they would have to finance $24 million to complete the project at the risk of over-leveraging the tribe’s businesses.
“The number of towers that we needed to build and the cost to build those towers is too steep for the Tribe to cover without a return on that investment,” the document said. “That would have placed the Tribe in a position of financial instability.”
In March 2017, Mohawk Networks was awarded a $6.4 million project grant for the $7.9 million broadband project to include all of Lewis County and some sites in Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Oneida counties. The plan for Lewis County included using a mixture of newly constructed and existing towers.
Of the 3,600 homes that were anticipating high speed internet access through Mohawk Networks, about 3,000 are in Lewis County, 240 in Jefferson County, 180 in St. Lawrence County and 220 in Oneida County, according to the Empire State Development Broadband Project website.
Mohawk Networks said they had delivered broadband to 126 homes, on time and on budget, and basic infrastructure has been completed that could serve hundreds of other homes.
“Mohawk Networks has every intention to continue delivering broadband to the households that are currently served as part of the completed Phase 2 part one project,” the document said.
Mohawk Networks is owned by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Tewathahonni Corp. and managed by a seven-person board that includes members of Tribal Council and the community of Akwesasne. It was launched in 2015 after the completion of a $15 million broadband project that laid 68 miles of fiber, connecting residents of Akwesasne to reliable, cost-effective broadband service.
Although representatives from the Mohawk Networks and the state broadbrand program could be reached for this article, both entities provided written statements on the situation after it was published.
The Mohawk Networks’ General Manager Alysson Doctor said Empire State Development “has been a fantastic partner,” but despite both parties’ efforts, a solution couldn’t be found.
“Both parties worked diligently to make the project viable and the State went above and beyond to make this project a reality,” the statement said, “The projected cost of the build, versus the actual cost to complete construction nearly doubled, and Mohawk Networks had to make an extremely difficult decision based on our own financial stability.”
A state development office spokesperson’s statement said the agency was disappointed about Mohawk’s decision, but that the broadband program office had given Mohawk “unprecedented support and flexibility to allow it to be successful.”
The statement said that no funds have been distributed relating to Mohawk’s projects, but the broadband office is working to get the project up and running again.
“The BPO is actively speaking with alternative providers about covering any unserved areas as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect changes made by the Watertown Daily Times.
©2019 Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, N.Y.)Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
