Greene kicking off next step in broadband expansion

news@greenecountymessenger.com
Another step in the expansion of broadband in Greene County was taken with a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday at 10 a.m.
The event marked the rollout and installation of broadband access to more than 700 homes and businesses in the Graysville, New Freeport and Spraggs areas. It was at the Springhill Community Center in New Freeport an dwas attended by Greene County commissioners, and representatives of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce and Kinetic by Windstream, the telephone services company that is teaming up with the county for the project.
The project got rolling two years ago when the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $2.5 million grant to Greene County to expand broadband access. Kinetic by Windstream has made its own $2.7 million capital investment. It’s expected that about 100 miles of fiber-optic cable will be installed, and, when the project is completed, it will provide gigabit-speed broadband access to all or portions of six townships: Aleppo, Freeport, Gilmore, Perry, Springhill and Wayne.
Construction is expected to start in mid-November and be completed next summer.
CNX Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the energy company CNX, has also provided $1 million for broadband access for a little more than 100 homes and businesses within Gray, Morris and Richhill townships, and Ryerson Station State Park.
In a news release, Greene County Commissioner Mike Belding said the county would continue “to seek opportunities to provide high-speed internet access to every resident, business and industry in the county.”
The $2.5 million grant provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission was part of a $46 million package for 57 projects across 184 communities affected by coal-industry job losses. Boosting broadband access has been a key priority among officials and lawmakers in rural Pennsylvania and other parts of the country. They believe it will increase economic and educational opportunities in areas that have seen population loss and anemic business growth.