Carrollton – The Greene County group is trying to provide high-speed internet to rural parts of the county.
The Greene County Economic Development Group has partnered with Frontier Internet for a proposed $93 million project to install fiber services for all rural residents in the county. Frontier will provide Internet service to customers with download and upload speeds of up to 2 Gbps.
A survey of 667 locations across the county conducted by the group in March and April found that more than 68% of areas had an available download speed of less than 25Mbps and more than 54% had an upload speed of less than 5Mbps; 4% said they had no service at all. Of those 4%, half said it was because it was so expensive.
The FCC has set minimum standards for broadband Internet speeds at 25 Mbps for download and 3 Mbps for upload.
Pat Pinkston, Carrollton City Councilor and Economic Development Group, said the project has been in the works for the past two years. Pinkston said Carrollton Mayor Mike Snyder has set up a committee that represents the interests of everyone in the county.
“One of the commission’s commitments was that any opportunity to improve broadband should only be considered if the primary focus is on providing an improved service to the entire community,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston said Frontier is ready to provide free installation and a minimum download and upload speed of 100 Mbps to customers starting at $29.99 per month.
Pinkston said the Economic Development Group has been talking to county communities to get support for the project and working with Frontier to reach agreement terms by mid-January. Frontier is also willing to fund more than 80% of the project, Pinkston said, but is still counting on “winning grants somewhere near $13 million to $15 million from Connect Illinois funds.”
Pinkston said the internet company also asked the county to raise $1.1 million from local sources.
The Economic Development Group expects grants by mid-2023, with the service available to all residents by 2025.
Pinkston said the project could be “transformative” for Greene County and be a “beacon of hope” for neighboring counties.
“We want to make sure that people see this as an opportunity, not just for Greene County, but perhaps as an opportunity more broadly for the state of Illinois, and certainly for the area around Greene County,” he said.
Originally posted 2022-12-31 15:03:01.