County seeking to bridge “last mile” in service

Federal covid relief dollars will help expand broadband to hard-to-reach areas

If the covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that access to broadband internet service is more important than ever, and not everyone has the same level of access. Rural areas in Muhlenberg County have no internet service at all, while even more have less than adequate service. Muhlenberg County Fiscal Court hopes to use federal covid-19 funding to help combat this disparity.

The court recently put out a request for proposals in search of providers who might construct and maintain an infrastructure network to serve rural residents. The challenge is to bridge “last mile” issues facing many, where service is just out of reach. The term is used to define the distance between a broadband internet provider’s infrastructure and the customer’s home or workplace.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce used to determine coverage, more than 31 percent - or 10,418 households - in Muhlenberg County have no access to internet service. For those who have service available to them, the median speed in some places is lackluster, putting many of the county’s residents into unserved or underserved areas.

The pandemic has exposed the disparity of service in many rural communities, as the internet provided a lifeline for education, healthcare and work. Many residents are without reliable and affordable services.

The intention of the court is to provide capital funding to construct and operate a fiber network to these unserved and underserved areas, using available federal and state covid-19 relief funds.

Magistrate Darrin Benton has been working on this project, with help from Alyssa Manning, president of the Felix E. Martin Jr. Foundation. Navigating the rules for spending American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds has been a challenge, Benton said.

Funds from ARPA were allotted to both local and state governments, and funding for broadband access is available directly from the federal government as well as at the state level. Spending them correctly is the hard part. This is why the county has obtained the service of Compass Advisory Partners, of Cookeville, Tennessee, and advisor David Stites to oversee how American Rescue Plan Act funds are spent by the county.

The agency will make sure those federal funds are spent properly and will provide counsel to the court on projects using those funds, for a fee of 1.5% of the cost of the project. Benton said this is a very affordable rate, considering the dollars being put into this broadband project. Making sure the federal guidelines are met is essential to receiving the ARPA funds for this project.

Benton said the court is not yet sure what the overall cost of this project might be. Once the requests for proposals are returned and reviewed, they will have a better idea.

Benton has first-hand knowledge of the issue. His home in rural Drakesboro lacks affordable, reliable internet service. He said he’s lived there 10 years, and the service has not come one inch closer to his home in that time. It’s even more frustrating for those who live within sight of fiber optic lines but still, no service is offered to their home.

Providing that “last mile” infrastructure is costly, and large service providers tend to pass over rural areas for more densely populated towns where more customers exist at the end of each mile.

This is where the fiscal court’s plan to help bridge the “last mile” comes in. Their goal is to establish the county as being at the forefront of the most connected communities in the commonwealth.

Requests for bids will be taken until March 10, when a committee will then review them.

APRA funds must be spent by 2024, so residents in Muhlenberg County may have better broadband just around the corner, and right to their front door, in a matter of years.