The Greene County broadband project is at a stand still.
The Greene Prairie Press reports that members of the Greene County Economic Development Group reported to the Greene County Board on November 9th that the countywide broadband project is on hold while the group awaits Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Administration on a decision for 4 grants.
The grants have been filed on behalf of the county by Frontier. The grants total approximately $25 million for only grant-eligible locations. Pat Pinkston, of the Economic Development Group, says that now the whole county won’t be covered under the fiber Internet project due to other services that cover certain areas of the county.
Rockbridge, Roodhouse, White Hall, and Carrollton are not deemed to be grant eligible due to the fact that high-speed Internet is available in those areas according to the state.
Pinkston did inform the Greene County Board that he believes the county did score well on its grant applications, but there is no guarantee that the grants will come to the county.
The project is expected to lay 469 miles of fiber optic cable, with a capital outlay cost of almost $34 million. The project is expected to service just about 3,000 locations in the county.