Expanding network: EATEL announced today that it has completed its fiber optic network to bring high-speed fiber internet to Houma and Thibodaux. The network is an extension of EATEL Business, which offers faster and more reliable voice, video and data services with speeds up to 10 times better than other local competitors, according to a news release. Houma and Thibodaux are the newest hubs of EATEL’s fiber expansion, following aggressive pushes in Baton Rouge and Gonzales. “EATEL’s best-in-class service brings superior reliability, security and speed to enhance business communications,” says Harris Miller, EATEL’s executive vice president of technology and innovation, in a statement.
Hit the streets: Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, will visit St. Francisville and New Orleans on Friday during the Louisiana swing of her five-day Delta Region Main Street Road Tour, the federal agency announced today. She will meet with St. Francisville Mayor Billy D’Aquilla and other officials at the Birdman Coffee Shop at 9:15 a.m., and the group will embark on an hour-long walking tour of several nearby small businesses at 9:30 a.m. In New Orleans, which marks the end of her five-day tour, Contreras-Sweet will embark on two walking tours of small businesses along Freret Street and Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. See the full release.
Omitted: The federal government announced today that commercial flights bound for Havana can begin from 10 U.S. cities, and New Orleans was not one of them. The Associated Press reports flights could begin this fall from Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; and New York, as well as four cities in Florida—Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. The airlines are Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United. Airlines still need to record—and keep for five years—the official reason why someone travels to Cuba. The 12 permitted categories include family visits, official business, educational or religious activities. See the full story.
