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Now, it appears, Paynesville will have not just one high-speed Internet provider, but two.

Mediacom - who has the cable franchise license for the city of Paynesville and Paynesville Township - announced this week that they have started work on high-speed Internet access via cable.

Mediacom joins Lakedale Telephone Company, which announced last month that it is working to install high-speed Internet access via DSL, which would be available in the city of Paynesville.

"It will be better for the city to have both Lakedale and Mediacom provide (high-speed Internet) service," said city council member Dennis Zimmerman last week, as the rumblings of Mediacom's commitment to high-speed cable Internet was raised at the city council meeting.

Zimmerman serves on the cable commission, which has been negotiating with Mediacom for over a year on a new cable contract. The sticking point, as far as the city was concerned, was the availability of high-speed Internet service, which city officials view as a necessary infrastructure for the 21st Century.

Since the city's and township's original cable contract expired on June 1, 2001, Mediacom has been operating under the terms of the old contract. A new 15-year contract is in the works.

Last week, at the request of Mediacom, the city council formally extended that expired agreement for another month, officially extending it from May 22 to June 30.

In a written press release dated Tuesday, May 28, Mediacom announced that construction personnel have started work in Paynesville to upgrade its cable system with a blend of fiber optic and coaxial cables capable of delivering high-speed Internet service.

Construction is expected to be finished by June 19, and high-speed Internet service should be available beginning in July, the company announced.