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Provider says Fulton County now has fiber to every address after $16 million build; take rate about 38%
Summary
A broadband project speaker told commissioners the county's $16 million fiber build connected every eligible address and was the first such county-wide deployment in Indiana, though some addresses served by other providers were excluded; state reimbursements will cover about 45% of the project cost.
A representative for the county fiber project reported to the Board of Commissioners on May 19 that the multi-year broadband build is complete to the addresses covered by the project and that state confirmation shows all eligible addresses now served by fiber-based internet.
"We are the first county in the state of Indiana to have fiber based Internet to every address," the speaker, identified as Joe, told commissioners. He said the overall project cost was about $16,000,000 and that the county expects roughly 45% reimbursement from state programs, leaving the county to carry the remainder. He said the county financed approximately $9,000,000 from local sources and that reimbursement claims will follow the program's rules.
The contractor/project team confirmed they did not duplicate service where other providers already offered fiber: addresses within Kosciusko REMC's territory and a Lightstream stretch along 1200 West were excluded because service already existed. The speaker said approximately one-fifth of addresses in the county were not eligible for grant funding when the grant was written but that the state now shows the county's eligible addresses as served.
He said the "take rate" — the percentage of eligible households that have signed up for the county service — is about 38% to date and that about 150 customers remain in the installation queue. The speaker credited cooperation from the county, landowners and Fulton County REMC during construction.
Commissioners and the provider said local subcontractors and long-standing partnerships were important to completing the project, and county leaders expressed appreciation for the cooperation across public and private partners.
