Port of West St. Mary tenants and nearby residents will get a sneak peak at new broadband Internet service offered in the area.

David Allain, port special assistant to the executive director, said Tuesday that Gulf Coast Broadband will soon erect its tower offering wireless Internet service to the port and surrounding area. Concrete is setting, and the tower should be up in a couple of weeks.

Port tenants have asked for better Internet service, and the commission agreed several months ago to assist.

The company will set up a demonstration at a location at the port to try the new service, probably the port-owned water plant.

Allain also reported that a lease agreement has been forwarded to both D&L Salvage for the warehouse owned by the port, and to Marine Turbine Technologies as well for dock space.

“Both of these tenants are hiring,” Allain said. “MTT is up in employment, and they are running newspaper ads for more.”

MTT is utilizing its unique turbine technology in the field of fracking for natural gas.

Allain also presented the upcoming proposed budget for the commission’s approval.