Harrison County to Become Gigabyte Community
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCORYDON, Ind. - A project being spearheaded by the Harrison County Community Foundation is set to make the county a 1 Gigabyte community within the next two years. The $15 million initiative will provide high-speed Internet access to 85 percent of businesses and residences in the county.
The Harrison County Council recently approved a $2 million loan to the foundation to help fund the project. The foundation itself is contributing $3 million, along with $10 million in new investment from Nashville-based Mainstream Fiber Networks.
The project is being completed in two phases. The first phase originally aimed to link all Harrison County government locations together. MFN has run approximately 55 miles of fiber optic cable and is now working to connect businesses and residential customers into the project loop.
The second phase will run an additional 115 miles of cable to connect more businesses and residences to the main loop. The foundation says most of the customers should be connected to the service by the end of 2019.
"This project should be a game-changer for our community", says Steve Gilliland, chief executive officer of the foundation. "With good schools, unmatched county services, abundant recreational amenities, and a revitalized downtown Corydon, having 1 gig fiber available should make Harrison County the perfect place to raise a family or start a business."
The foundation says revenues generated from fiber access and a $5 monthly Infrastructure Recovery Fee will allow both the foundation and the county to recover their investments.