Marshall County commissioners voted Nov. 17 to approve an Ethernet services agreement with Hyperwave to provide separate internet connectivity for the county jail, a step county leaders said is intended to isolate the jail network from other county systems and improve security.

Commissioners said they met with Hyperwave and regional internet staff to confirm the project and that the jail’s connection will include firewall separation so a compromise of one building would not provide access to another. The board voted to approve the Hyperwave agreement and authorized appropriate signatures.

Commissioner Adam (email provided during the meeting as adamf@co.marshall.in.us) also updated the board on follow-up with BrightSpeed regional maintenance staff. He said BrightSpeed representatives told the county they can repair copper lines in some locations and asked residents who continue to have problems to send their names, addresses and descriptions of issues to adamf@co.marshall.in.us so the regional maintenance supervisor can isolate affected areas.

The broadband discussion followed several other internet-service agenda items, including a sale of a prior tower agreement that changed which provider supplies service to some county facilities. No funding amount for the Hyperwave agreement was given in the record at the time of the vote; commissioners indicated the vendor is expected to proceed soon and the jail separation is a priority for early next year.