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Center for Rural Development outlines 5-site broadband build for Pulaski County; BEAD awards will shape next phases
Summary
Presenters from the Center for Rural Development described a phase-one, five‑site broadband deployment covering roughly 3,000 broadband‑serviceable locations across Pulaski and Rockcastle counties, funded in part by ARC. Officials said countywide coverage depends on federal BEAD awards; subscribers are expected on Phase A by the end of summer.
Lonnie Lawson, representing the group that brought the project to the court, and Richard Taylor of the Center for Rural Development told the Pulaski County Fiscal Court that a Phase A broadband build will install five wireless sites (four in Pulaski County and one in Rockcastle County) tied together with 19 miles of new fiber and about 32 miles of existing fiber.
The work is part of a larger 16‑county program funded through the Appalachian Regional Commission and includes equipment operating on licenses obtained through the FCC auction process, Taylor said. He said the deployment will use 5G gear and is expected to meet and exceed the current FCC definition of broadband (100 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up).
Why it matters: County officials asked detailed questions about cost, coverage and timeline because rural parts of Pulaski lack reliable service; Taylor and Lawson said the Phase A footprint addresses specific license areas but that countywide service hinges on where federal BEAD awards go. "As soon as we know what is applied for in your district...we can't do anything else," Taylor said, describing BEAD award results as the key determinant of where the team will place future projects.
Taylor said the Phase A project will be able to reach about 3,000 broadband‑serviceable locations (BSLs) across the five sites, with roughly 800 of those in Pulaski County. He said the program will offer a low‑cost consumer option in the roughly $50‑per‑month range and will also include tiered business offerings. The project’s handout lists SkyView as a subcontractor for radio‑frequency planning and Broadlink as the license‑holding partner.
On schedule and risks: Project leaders said permitting, pole‑attachment agreements and tower access are still in progress but that Phase A should have subscribers by the end of summer, using a phased turn‑up. They estimated that, depending on BEAD outcomes and other providers’ awarded areas, the team could reach the entire county in roughly two years but cautioned that timelines depend on which areas private applicants win in BEAD.
Officials and magistrates raised local concerns about Mount Vickery and other areas with little or no cell or radio coverage for first responders; Taylor said those areas are priorities, and additional Appalachian Regional Commission funds will target coverage gaps that are not addressed through BEAD awards. Taylor described challenges to building in sparsely populated stretches—higher per‑mile construction costs and limestone terrain that raise burial costs where fiber is required.
Lawson and Taylor asked county leaders to continue reporting local coverage gaps. "If you've got questions, this man right here talks—we talk to him all the time," Lawson told magistrates, referring to Taylor as the county contact for follow‑up.
Ending: Presenters left contact information and distributed a project handout showing propagation maps and network architecture. No formal court action was taken on the presentation itself; the court voted later on unrelated procurement and road items.
