By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
BLOOMFIELD — A new collaboration is bringing gigabit fiber internet access to approximately 200 more members of the Bloomfield-based Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC. It’s anticipated that work will be complete in mid-to-late 2022.
Announced Sept. 1, the limited partnership will see Martinsville-based South Central Indiana REMC provide the service by leverage existing middle-mile fiber assets and attaching to UDWI’s poles in north-central portions of that utility’s territory. “The SCI partnership will impact homes and businesses in the northern Greene County/southern Owen County area,” UDWI CEO Doug Childs told Southern Indiana Business Report. “The closest town for most of this initial work would be Freedom, Indiana.”
The joint venture is making use of funds SCI received in the second round of the Next Level Connections Broadband grant program, which was announced in 20202 and awarded $51 million for 50 broadband infrastructure expansion projects across the state. SCI was awarded two grants from the program. (SCI Fiber was launched in 2018 to offer residential and commercial telecommunication services, and the firm now has nearly 6,000 residential subscribers with 1,150 miles of mainline and distribution fiber in place.)
“It’s a special thing to be able to work together with other local organizations to achieve the same end goal,” said James Tanneberger, president and CEO of SCI REMC. “The partnership will allow SCI to bring fiber to areas that we normally wouldn’t be able to reach, and we look forward to working with UDWI on this project.”
Childs said UDWI is grateful for opportunities that allow the organization to serve its members in ways beyond utility service. “This partnership allows UDWI to further strengthen its internal goal of improving service and reliability for its members, and we are excited for this project to begin,” he said.
The new collaboration with SCI is only the latest example of UDWI partnerships to put high-speed internet access within reach of its members, many of whom are now using satellite or other wireless systems with significantly lower speeds. In January, ground was broken on a joint venture with Ellettsville-based Smithville. “Our Smithville partnership targets western Monroe County and eastern Greene County and will ultimately reach over 800 UDWI member homes,” Childs reported.
He noted the first two phases of the construction of the Smithville partnership project are complete, with access now available to approximately 280 UDWI members. Childs said UDWI continues to explore partnerships with multiple other partners to find new ways to bring high-speed internet to its members..