The state awarded Putnam County a broadband grant that would expand internet services to some 2,400 residents.
Mayor Randy Porter said the $14.8 million dollar project lead by Twin Lakes would mean that every Putnam County resident and business would have internet access.
“They agreed to lock their pricing in for several years, so it never goes up since the county is putting money into it,” Porter said. “They have promised that everybody in the county regardless where you live will ultimately have access to high-speed internet.”
Porter said the state awarded $10.4 million through the grant. Porter said the county’s willingness to pitch in $4.4 million of federal COVID money was a deciding a factor for the state.
“That was a huge deal with them,” Porter said. “They had about $440 million I think that they were spreading out across the whole state. I think we got a lot more points because we were putting in a big share of the funds, and we were already a broadband ready county already. Those two things gave us higher points on the grant application.”
Porter said the project calls for 195-miles of fiber network that will cover middle to east Putnam County. Porter said the work could take up to 30 months to be completed. The end result would be at least 200mbps of internet download speed.
The post Putnam Awarded Broadband Grant For Twin Lakes To Expand Internet Access appeared first on News Talk 94.1/AM 1600.