Two players in North Georgia's Internet game have come together.
North Georgia Network, a provider in high-powered fiber optic Internet, announced last week that its member company, NGN Connect, had acquired Appalachian Broadband Technologies, a locally owned wireless Internet service provider in Cleveland.
"We are very excited about this acquisition, as it will strengthen our service reach to better serve our customers and meet the demands in the North Georgia region," said Michael Foor, CEO of NGN Connect. "Appalachian Broadband Technologies offers many years of experience designing and installing wireless Internet access systems."
The acquisition will allow NGN Connect, a member-owned Internet service provider offering high-speed Internet connectivity and custom network solutions to North Georgia, to expand its service area by utilizing ABT's wireless infrastructure to effectively deploy high speed broadband to areas that are otherwise unreachable by a traditional hard-wired fiber optic service.
"Our plan is to continue to improve the market reach of the company, starting with the franchise agreements that are in place within local communities and then expanding out from there," Foor said.
NGN Connect is currently in the process of implementing structure and allocating resources for the transition, and upon completion will begin marketing the new services.
"We are very pleased to be joining NGN Connect and are confident our shared resources will make ABT's wireless broadband services even stronger and extend reach into neighboring areas," said Rich Tarpley, former owner of Appalachian Broadband Technologies. "Together we intend to continue to improve Internet connectivity for as many customers as possible in the areas we serve."