Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Thursday, August 8 that Tipmont REMC will receive $444,558 from the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program. The program, in its first phase of awards, is designed to foster broadband infrastructure investment in unserved areas of the state.
“We’re grateful that the state of Indiana has recognized the dire and immediate need for broadband in rural Indiana,” said Ron Holcomb, Tipmont REMC President and CEO. “Tipmont is committed to bringing fiber internet to our entire service area and these funds will help accelerate our progress.”
The grant will help Tipmont construct and deliver fiber broadband to northwest Tippecanoe County (figure 1) near Montomenci. The build will serve 27 unserved households and three unserved businesses in northwestern Tippecanoe County to include portions of Shelby Township. Tipmont REMC will contribute $118,000 for a total project cost of $562,000.
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Tipmont also applied for funding in Fountain and Montgomery Counties, but those grant requests were not approved. Tipmont representatives will meet with state officials to receive feedback and plan to resubmit the grants in the next funding cycle.
In this first phase of awards, Next Level Connections awarded $22.1 million to 11 broadband projects in Indiana. A total of $100 million was dedicated to the Next Level Connections broadband fund.
