By MARK MILLER
If you do not have access to high-speed internet service at your home or business, the state of Indiana wants to hear from you.
“This is part of a huge national effort to get broadband service to the rural areas,” said Lee VonGunten, general manager of AdamsWells Internet-Telecom-TV. “There’s something like $65 billion committed to it and Indiana has already released at least $200 million.” And he believes that is only the beginning.
That does not mean that anyone will get free high-speed access to the internet. What is being subsidized is the cost of getting that service to rural homes and businesses.
In addition to AdamsWells, Wells County is serviced by Heartland REMC, Citizens Telephone out of Warren, and Mediacom. Legacy telephone companies, such as AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, also provide some degree of service in parts of the county but those services generally do not qualify as “broadband.”
“Right now, the definition of broadband is 25/3,” VonGunten said, meaning a speed of 25 Mbps (megabits per second) download and 3 Mbps upload.
Most rural residences and businesses rely on older, slower technology for internet access. “DSL” service is commonly 10 Mbps but can be higher, he explained. Most also have some internet access via cell phones, but that is not dependable for streaming and is often limited in speed.
AdamsWells has been awarded a $1.5 million grant, but that must be matched dollar-for-dollar in each project. As with all providers, AdamsWells is only interested in expanding their territory adjacent to existing customers. “At $50,000 per linear mile, the numbers need to make financial sense,” he explained.
Each grant from that $1.5 million pot will be for a specific location. If that home or business is, for example, ten miles from a provider’s nearest existing cable, the grant would not pay for those miles in-between. VonGunten suspects there are some locations that may never have a fiber connection unless the state provides more funding.
Currently, he believes the southeast portions of the county have the most homes without broadband service, “but there are pockets and gaps here and there, even through the central portion.”
He believes that if 50 to 75 percent of the “build costs” are covered by federal grants, “the monthly fee should be in the $50-$60 range for broadband service.”
The state’s newest version of getting broadband service to rural areas was recently launched, called “The Wifi Project.” It is defined as “an initiative of the state of Indiana with a goal of helping to find residents and business owners who need internet access and connecting them to providers and resources” to make that happen.
Residents and business owners interested in exploring the possibilities can either call 1-888-639-8522 or go to www.thewifiproject.com and go through the steps to determine their present upload and download speeds and complete a form. There is no cost to complete the process to determine eligibility. Once a form is completed, the state project will inform providers in that area.
“This is a long-term project,” VonGunten said. “It’s not something that will be completed any time soon.”
miller@news-banner.com
