Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
Hamilton County is set in rural north Florida, where the internet is outdated compared to today's technology. For years, unfortunately, the cost outweighed the production of bringing in better service. Then, Hamilton County received $2 million from the American Rescue Plan as part of a program distributed to small businesses, local governments and many others to offset the economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For Hamilton County, they must use the funds for infrastructure. The board of commissioners decided the best way to help stabilize and promote growth in Hamilton County would be to bring faster, more reliable internet to rural areas of the county.
With technology constantly evolving and getting better and faster, Windstream can offer broadband to the rural areas of the southeastern United States. While Hamilton County received $2 million for infrastructure improvement, the idea of bringing broadband into the area would cost significantly more than the amount they were given. However, Hamilton County reached out to Windstream to see if they could somehow work out a plan to bring broadband into the county. Not only did Windstream answer the call, but they came to the rescue. Windstream agreed that if Hamilton County put $2 million into the project, Windstream would put another $7.2 million. As a result, both entities jumped at the idea of working together in bringing broadband to the citizens of Hamilton County.
The project has been in the works for more than 13 months and, in August of 2022, the project will break ground. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The project will reach over 4,900 households throughout the area and stabilize the County's infrastructure, including emergency medical services, first responders and local small businesses. The value of the project is estimated to be around $10 million. The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners has worked diligently to bring broadband to its citizens without the county having to spend any of its own money for the project.