Fiber option

No connection left behind.

Jay County officials are considering a multi-million dollar plan that would install 395 miles of fiberoptic internet across the county to reach all homes and businesses categorized as unserved or underserved.

Jay County Commissioners and Jay County Council heard a proposal Thursday from Mark Gabriel of Mainstream Fiber Networks. The project would require a 20% match — $3.9 million — from the county, with the remaining $15.5 million covered by grants and a partnership between Mainstream Fiber Networks and Searchlight Capital, a New York private equity company.

Commissioners and council will meet in another joint session at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, to continue discussing the project.

Approximately 3,900 locations — about 36% of homes and businesses in Jay County — are unserved or underserved in terms of broadband access, explained Gabriel.

“Unserved” individuals are categorized as residents with less than 25 megabytes per second downloads and 3 megabytes per second uploads, and “underserved” individuals are categorized as those with less than 100 megabytes per second downloads and 20 megabytes per second uploads.

Mainstream Fiber Networks’ minimum fiber speed is 300 megabytes per second downloads and 300 megabytes per second uploads. For those speeds, pricing is estimated at $55 a month for residents and business owners. It would be about $99 a month to upgrade to a 1-gigabyte download speed plan.

The company’s fixed wireless speed — it would be utilized for a small portion of areas in which terrain makes installation difficult — comes in at 100 megabytes per second downloads and 20 megabytes per second uploads. (The Federal Communications Commission in November announced plans to propose increasing the national broadband speed to 100 megabyte downloads per second and 20 megabyte uploads per second.) That plan would cost $89.95 a month for residents or business owners.

If approved, 395 miles of fiber internet would be installed across Jay County over the next two to three years. After securing grants through The Next Level Connections Broadband Grant program or the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, Mainstream Fiber Networks would hire at least six employees and contract several other jobs to complete construction.

“We are going to look at a whole-county approach, we’re going to pursue building out the entire county, into the areas for unserved and underserved,” explained Gabriel.

Mainstream Fiber Networks started working with counties about 10 years ago to provide rural broadband internet access. Currently, the Indiana-based company has connections in nine counties with three more in the works and has received $22.8 million in Next Level Connections grants. One of its recent projects included outfitting the entirety of Benton County with broadband access.

“Every home or business has access to broadband in the county,” said Gabriel. “There aren’t many counties that have that, they’re probably one of the first ones in the state of Indiana that have that.”

Mainstream Fiber Networks signed an agreement in October with Searchlight Capital, which is the largest private investor in rural broadband in the United States. (The company has invested around $2.5 billion in consumer broadband, according to information from Gabriel’s presentation.) Together, the partnership would provide $6 million, or 31%, of the total cost to outfit Jay County with fiberoptic internet.

There’s also a matter of grant acquirement. Mainstream Fiber Networks plans to apply for two grants through the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program, which allows up to $5 million per application. (The funding is administered through Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to provide dollars for installing broadband infrastructure to unserved or underserved community members across Indiana, according to in.gov/ocra/nlc.) Gabriel explained Next Level Connections was created in 2018 to distribute $1 billion for connecting unserved Indiana households to broadband internet.

Hopes are to secure $9.5 million through Next Level Connections for the Jay County project. If denied, the group will apply for funding through the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, which has allocated $868 million for Indiana toward promoting reliable internet connectivity.

Commissioner Brian McGalliard asked if there is a better chance for grant funding because Mainstream Fiber Solutions would be applying to outfit the entire county.

“Oh yeah,” said Gabriel. “You just a took a big problem off their table.”

He added that it makes more sense financially to install fiberoptic connections at one time.

Jay County community coordinator Nate Kimball noted the Next Level Connections grant application is due Feb. 9, meaning county officials would need to move on the project quickly.

Gabriel asked for county officials to sign a letter of support for the project and, for the application, to spell out how they plan to pay the county’s portion.

McGalliard asked how the county would make payments for the project, with Gabriel explaining payments would be submitted as work is completed. He also said payments could be “stretched out” or “flexible” as needed.

Council vice president Cindy Bracy noted another company interested in developing the eastern part of the county. She and council member Harold Towell suggested looking into other options for broadband expansion before making a decision.

McGalliard suggested the county could issue a bond for the project, with county attorney Wes Schemenaur confirming the process would take a few months. (Gabriel said they could move forward on the application without the formal bond process being completed.) 

Schemenaur also noted the county’s various funding revenues available, which could include economic development income tax (EDIT), tax increment financing (TIF) dollars, solar and wind farm economic development funds and American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

“I would encourage you to look at all of your options on how to pay for that and come to a decision,” he said. “If you’re going to bond, you’ve got to figure out what’s your revenue to pay that off.”

McGalliard noted the project’s timeline could extend into 2027. (Per federal guidelines, American Rescue Plan Act funds need to be spent by 2026.) Schemenaur pointed out dollars could come from various sources.

Once grants are awarded, explained Gabriel, his company would begin the engineering portion of the project. About 90 days later, the first round of construction would begin, likely in the fourth quarter of this year, he estimated.

“I know Jay Schools … has showed a dire need for county wide broadband,” said McGalliard, with Schemenaur referencing e-learning through the COVID-19 pandemic and winter weather.

Schemenaur also noted stronger internet connections may help to attract more young adults to live in the community.

Commissioner president Chad Aker asked for the group’s opinions about moving forward with the application.

“We need to have internet, there’s no doubt about that,” said Bracy.

Council, absent members Jeanne Houchins, Faron Parr and Randy May, and commissioners agreed to meet at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, to review paperwork and discuss a financial plan for the project.