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INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) – The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs has launched a program designed to provide better access to reliable high-speed internet. Indiana’s $ 270 million connectivity program, which was approved this year by the Indiana General Assembly, empowers owners and business owners who do not have the Internet or have unreliable service asking for better connections. Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch says the program will help Hoosiers in rural parts of the state where providers typically do not provide access.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Crouch said broadband providers typically determine which areas they want to provide connections to.
“This Indiana connectivity program allows Hoosiers to go to our portal or call our toll-free number and find out if they have a connection, which they need to know, but they can also tell us what is their speed and if they’re under 25/3 we can go in and give them better speed, ”Crouch said.“ What will happen then is that we are going, from today to the next three months, collect these addresses and at the end of the three months and group them geographically. This will allow us… to go to the suppliers and contract with them to provide the service.
To be eligible for the program, a location must either not have Internet access or have access to download speeds of less than 25 Mbps and download speeds of less than 3 Mbps. OCRA indicates, however, that entering location information does not guarantee access to a service extension.
Crouch says it’s important to give residents and business owners the ability to access broadband instead of having to rely on providers to hopefully come to their area.
“Suppliers are going to look for where the best economic return on investment is for them and we know that means they are looking at densely populated areas because these are the connections they can make and then get a return on their investment,” Crouch said, “It actually allows us to help connect those Hoosiers that may be in areas that are not economically feasible for the supplier, but nonetheless, they are Hoosiers that need to be connected.”
Homeowners and business owners who wish to participate in the program can go to the Next Level Connections portal and enter their address and information. They can also call the Indiana Broadband Connect Center during business hours at 833-639-8522.
After the initial 90-day bidding process, vendors will have 60 days to bid on contracts to provide the service to those chosen to receive the connections. Once the contracts are awarded, the service providers will have nine months to complete their projects.
“The past year and a half has highlighted the great importance of having everyone connected,” said Crouch. “This program is a way to provide a service to households and businesses that are in the dark of the Internet or have speeds that do not meet the demands of our e-learning students or our workforce. teleworking. “
Crouch, the program will continue until the full allocation of $ 270 million has been spent, at which point OCRA will seek additional funding from the Indiana General Assembly.
You can learn more about the Indiana Connectivity Program at click here.
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