Broadband Coming to Rowan County!
On Friday, we made a monumental announcement in the gymnasium of the Rowan County Middle School. We had present with us representatives of Windstream, the state, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, the schools, the city, the Center for Rural Development, the area development district, the hospital, the university, the technical college, the library, the list goes on and on. Their presence was a testament to the ties that bind this community together, and the commitment of our friends and neighbors to achieve a common goal for the greater good.
Many people thought that we were there to talk about broadband, but the truth is, we were not. We were there to talk about the future, and the future is our children. Some of the brightest young minds of this county were there amongst us. They are the future doctors, lawyers, Judges, and leaders of this community. It is for them, that we strive to do our very best; to leave this world in a better shape than we found it.
When I was growing up, broadband wasn’t even a word yet. We were still pretty excited by electricity. Today, it’s something that affects the life of every child in Rowan County. We learned last year just how important that basic internet access was to our children’s education and wellbeing. I heard time and time again, from people who would stop me on the street and in the grocery store, just how difficult it was to get their kids online and ready for school, because they didn’t have the necessary internet capability at home. That’s really a shame, and it’s a problem that our community could afford to bare not one moment longer. Improving the broadband infrastructure of Rowan County has been a priority of mine since I came into office. When the COVID-19 pandemic came to Rowan County, the underlying needs and deficiencies of our broadband capabilities were highlighted even more so, to the point that they could not be ignored.
We want to build adequate infrastructure to accommodate for tele-health visits, online learning, e-commerce, and telework for the people of Rowan County. Access to broadband is as important as access to water and sewer today, and we owe better to our people. We are committed to putting skin in the game, because it’s the most worthwhile goal, and best investment we can make for this county’s future. That’s why the Rowan County Fiscal Court initiated a comprehensive Broadband Feasibility Study in July of 2020. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current state broadband throughout the entire county, and to propose solutions that could address these issues. That study was completed in May of this year. In June, the Rowan County Fiscal Court issued a Request for Proposals, seeking solutions to provide reliable and affordable broadband services to the people of Rowan County. The primary goal was to provide fiber to the home internet service to all of our taxpayers. Windstream was ultimately selected as a partner by a committee of community representatives.
Windstream has already invested in a solid middle-mile infrastructure in Rowan County. Using their own private funds, the company has an ongoing internal fiber upgrade that will open the door to Gig-speed services for an estimated 8,200 locations in Rowan and Morehead. With expected completion dates early next year, the ongoing internal upgrades will overbuild significant sections of existing copper lines with faster and more reliable fiber lines. I applaud them for their investment in Rowan County, and their investment in our future. Windstream is willing to contribute more as a valued partner in Rowan County, but outside funds will be needed to assist in the deployment of fiber in remote areas that would otherwise not be economical to reach. That is why Windstream, in cooperation with the Rowan County Fiscal Court, has applied for a $4.9 million dollar grant from the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund.
If approved, we will bring broadband to over 4,100 additional homes in Rowan County. The proposed design is not based on “cherry picking” or building only to the most affluent areas of a community. Based on our projections, only about 10 individual address points in the entirety of Rowan County would not be encompassed within the scope of this project. Meaning, all of Rowan County will have fiber-to-the-door capability provided for them, securing our children’s futures, and putting us on equal footing with the rest of the world.
By ensuring that every Rowan Countian has access to broadband, we can be sure that nobody will be left behind.
