PSC (St. Meinrad, Ind.) and Southern Indiana Power are making big waves thanks to a partnership designed to bring faster fiber broadband to underserved and unserved communities in Indiana.
Within the last few years, PSC has deployed more than 1,500 miles of fiber to residents in rural parts of the state. PSC President and CEO Daren Brown said it was “able to connect a record number of customers” to fiber since 2020. Nearly 6,000 locations covering 328 square miles were passed with 700 miles of fiber, and Brown gives credit to the employees and contractors working on the project for its success.
The partnership between PSC and Southern has greatly improved the lives of the rural Indiana community. Starting before the pandemic, the partnership formed by fusing the PSC and Southern networks to create one big force to serve unserved communities. “Everyone deserves quality access to fiber broadband,” Brown said.
Scheduled for completion next year, the total infrastructure investment is expected to be around $60 million. A Rural Utilities Service loan of $24 million helped fund this work, and PSC has previously received a grant from Indiana Next Level Connections and funds from the Connect America Fund and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, as well as local government dollars.
Brown said he is excited to keep pushing forward on the project and that the PSC team is “looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in our communities.”