BOONE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
116 West Washington Street
Room 103
Lebanon, IN 46052
Phone: (765) 483-4492 | Fax: (765) 483-4494
District 1: Tom Santelli | District 2: Donald Lawson | District 3: Jeff Wolfe
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT
Noah Alatza, Coverdale Consulting
317-519-7892
State awards Boone County millions for broadband upgrades
LEBANON, Ind. (April 19, 2022) — Indiana’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program has awarded Boone County just under $2 million for upgrades to broadband infrastructure.
The federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awarded close to $1.5 million for upgrades in the county as well. A total of more than $3 million will be invested into Boone County broadband infrastructure.
The Boone County Commissioners have been working for months to secure funding for the updates that improve local communities’ overall quality of life.
Charter Spectrum won the largest number of grants in the state with 26 total grants. They were also the sole recipients of the Next Level Connection Broadband awards for Boone County.
Eligible project areas include rural portions of Boone County that lack quality and reliable access to broadband services. This includes nearly 1,100 homes and businesses. Construction on the upgrades is set to begin in Quarter 4 of 2022.
“We are thrilled about this because it is a pretty large expansion that will bring gig speeds by way of fiber to Boone County residents. We are thankful for the support from the county leadership who were excellent to work with and who have made Boone County a very attractive location for providers such as ourselves,” said Elizabeth James, Manager of Government Affairs for Charter Spectrum. “Commissioner Tom Santelli has been an instrumental part in our ability to put together a strong bid for Boone County. We can’t say thank you enough.”
Commissioners Jeff Wolfe and Don Lawson would also like to commend Commissioner Santelli for all of his hard work on this project.
Indiana will invest $270 million toward improving broadband access and adoption across the state. Read more about the program here: https://www.in.gov/ocra/nlc/
Please see attached map showcasing the newest 380 locations for new broadband in New Ross, Jamestown, Whitestown, Sheridan, Lebanon, and Zionsville.