Conexon Connect has completed its first fiber to the home project in Florida, a 2,000-mile network launched in partnership with Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC).

In a public statement, Conexon noted that this was the sixth fiber project they’ve completed nationwide with fiber Internet access being delivered to 12,000 EREC members.

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"Over the past two years, we've worked tirelessly to bring this critical infrastructure to every EREC member in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties," EREC CEO Ryan Campbell said of the milestone. "Today, every member of our cooperative has access to fast, reliable Internet, which is not just about improving connectivity – it's about enhancing quality of life, fostering economic growth and ensuring that no one in our community is left behind in the digital age.”

Conexon’s Alexis Madison told ILSR that the EREC project will be financed with approximately $21.8 million in grants, including an Escambia County grant of $6.3 million, two Broadband Opportunity Program (BOP) grants totaling $5.9 million, and a Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant of $9.6 million.

Kentucky is one of many states undergoing a baptism by fire as they jocky to take advantage of billions in historic federal broadband grants. The Kentucky Office of Broadband Development didn’t exist a year ago; now it’s tasked with identifying state broadband gaps and managing one of the most complex broadband subsidy efforts ever attempted.

All while shaking off a history of costly state boondoggles.

Kentucky officials last year announced they’d be spending more than $203 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to shore up broadband access. Now they’re preparing to spend hundreds of millions more courtesy of $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Kentucky Office of Broadband Officials have spent the last few months on a listening tour getting an earful from frustrated state residents angry about high broadband prices, spotty coverage, and sluggish speeds. Kentucky currently ranks 30th nationwide in such metrics thanks in part to monopolization by local cable and phone giants.

Like so many states, the lack of affordable, reliable broadband access was particularly notable during the Covid home education and telecommuting boom, driving a renewed interest in creative broadband deployment alternatives.

Avoiding The Sins Of The Past

Past Kentucky efforts to bridge the digital divide haven’t gone particularly well.

When Craig Eccher, CEO Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, joined Christopher on the podcast last fall, he had an exciting project to talk about: the electric cooperative, after strong calls from its membership asking their utility to deliver broadband, stepped up and committed to an $80 million, 3,250-mile fiber build across the rugged terrain of rural Pennsylvania, the first leg propelled by $52.6 million in federal and state grants. Tri-Co Connections, the subsidiary building the network and serving as provider, has begun connecting residents in an aggressive plan to serve 10,000 users in the next three years. The move makes Tri-County the first electric co-op in Pennsylvania to enter the fiber space, and it's doing so in dramatic fashion.

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