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Champaign County broadband project advances amid easement delays and BEAD uncertainty
Summary
Project leaders told the Champaign County Broadband Task Force that underground construction for a state-funded backbone is underway but that easement negotiations, a delayed fiber shipment and changes to BEAD rules could affect later phases that would reach roughly 1,335 premises and 35 anchor institutions.
A project representative for Volo and its county partners told the Champaign County Broadband Task Force that construction of a state-funded fiber backbone (phase 1) is underway but that easement negotiations, supply delays and federal BEAD program rule changes could affect later phases.
The update, delivered to the task force during a regular meeting, said crews have obtained permits and completed field staking for the backbone funded in 2024 and expect to finish underground work by November. The presenter said the project needs easements from roughly 550 property owners (affecting nearly 700 parcel pins), of which 276 easements are signed and about 100 are “in the works.” The representative said, "We have a contingency budget that's adequate," and that fiber shipment originally scheduled for August was delayed to November.
Why it matters: the task force was told phase 2b — the portion of coverage proposed for federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access,…
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