Monroe County, Pa., Issues RFP for 'Monroe Gigabit Project'

Known also as AcceleratePA, the Monroe Gigabit Project aims to bring gigabit internet service to clients in the area for an annual cost of $1,000 or less.

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(TNS) -- Faster, cheaper internet service may be on its way to Monroe County. Technology procurement consultants Lewis Strategic, PLLC released a request for proposals Monday, after months of planning and discussions with regional stakeholders.

"A Broadband RFP for the Monroe Gigabit Project was issued to more than 100 broadband providers doing business in Pennsylvania," said Lewis spokeswoman Rebecca Kann. "The RFP includes 44 participating organizations with more than 100 site locations."

Known also as AcceleratePA, the Monroe Gigabit Project aims to bring gigabit internet service to clients in the Poconos for an annual cost of $1,000 or less. Gigabit internet refers to high-speed broadband networks that can transfer one billion units — or "bits" — of information per second.

East Stroudsburg University, the Monroe 2030 Action Team and Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corporation announced their partnership on the project in December. The group enlisted the services of Lewis Strategic, Business Information Group and Dellicker Strategies, LLC for implementation.

Lewis President and former State Representative Kelly Lewis promised to have hard plans ready by the project's final public meeting on May 12. The request issued on Monday marks a major step, but spokesperson Kann said details on the document will remain private.

"The RFP results will remain confidential to and for each participating organization to use as they individually see fit," she said. "Only an aggregation of the RFP's pricing will be developed and shared externally at the May 12 meeting."

AcceleratePA will host its second-to-last meeting Thursday. Both remaining sessions will feature an informative seminar on cyber security, with updates on the RFP process. Kann said providers interested in reviewing the RFP should contact Brian Smith of Dellicker Strategies. The scheduled due date for proposals is May 10.

©2017 the Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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