County targeting broadband expansion

The next steps are being taken toward expanding rural broadband internet access to all corners of Huntington County.

Indianapolis-based consulting firm Beam, Longest & Neff has helped the Commissioners’ Office and other county officials identify unserved and underserved areas to target for high-speed internet infrastructure expansion through the state’s Next Level Connections program.

For Round 4 of the program, the firm has assisted Huntington County with compiling a list of locations and addresses that lack reliable broadband access. The list is due to be submitted to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) today, Friday, October 6.

In addition to state and federal data sources on rural internet speeds, Huntington County has also worked with the local school corporation to provide anonymized data on students and teachers who could not access broadband service from home.

“Huntington County is way ahead of most counties by conducting their own study beginning in 2021,” said John DiDomizio, project manager for Beam, Longest & Neff. “The end goal is to have broadband availability throughout the county.”

DiDomizio said his firm anticipates that Heartland REMC, Comcast and potentially other local installers will apply for state grants to build the broadband infrastructure needed to serve the Huntington County locations and addresses identified through the Next Level Connections program. Additional funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will be distributed to states next year, he said.

According to the OCRA website, the state is investing $350 million toward improving broadband access and adoption to reach more Indiana households, businesses, schools, health clinics and other community institutions.

The Huntington County Commissioners’ Office has prioritized broadband expansion as students and workers are learning and working remotely more often.

“The Commissioners identified the issue of connectivity during the pandemic. They realized early on that there were great challenges to students and workers trying to learn and work remotely while not being able to access reliable internet,” office manager Bridgett Burkhart said in an email.

Resulting efforts to streamline the permitting process for organizations bringing broadband to the area led to Huntington County’s state designation as a Broadband Ready Community in August 2021.