Representatives from two internet service providers connected with members of the Jefferson County Broadband Working Group last week at the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County.
Pine Bluff Cable TV’s Cablelynx is one of five internet service providers in Jefferson County that applied for a Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant. Jefferson County is projected to receive $7.84 million of a $1.024 billion state allocation from BEAD. The working group is organizing details for a proposal of fund usage to send to the Arkansas State Broadband Office, or ARConnect, by Oct. 4.
Cablelynx in 2022 was awarded $5.2 million in Arkansas Rural Connect grants to expand service infrastructure and extend the broadband footprint in Pine Bluff and surrounding areas.
“We completed all that work, and now we’re in the BEAD funding program,” said Chuck Launius, regional vice president for Cablelynx. “We can’t give any updates on that because we’re under a confidentiality clause with the Arkansas Broadband Office, but right now we’re in the middle of doing that. Nothing’s official yet, but it’s a lot of work.”
Launius reported a $7.1 million investment to build its state-funded infrastructure for 2,100 homes. The figure was higher than the amount awarded because of inflation and labor shortages, he explained.
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“The goal is to build Jefferson County completely, 100% with broadband service,” Launius said. “That’s the goal. Jefferson County has received quite a bit of funding from previous programs but there’s more to build. Jefferson County is a large county, so it’s definitely going to get a lot of attention in this latest funding program.”
Another ISP, Resound, will soon launch its service in Pine Bluff and other parts of Jefferson and Pulaski counties. Founded in Pampa, Texas, Resound is investing $2 million out of a $300 million pool it received from the federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund into Jefferson County.
“We are going to build fixed wireless,” said Alecia Shannon, Resound’s external affairs director. “We lease towers. If there is not a tower in the area, we’ll build it, but we try to lease where we can because that helps stretch the dollar.”
Resound installs Tarana-brand devices on the towers for maximum reach, Shannon explained. The network has yet to be built in the Pine Bluff area, a timeline for which Shannon did not immediately offer.
Meanwhile, working group members discussed hopes of bringing training in internet services to young people in Jefferson County. The Arkansas Fiber Academy offers training for interested aerial linemen and technicians in fiber optics, telecommunications towers and underground drilling, but does not yet have classes in this area.
“We need young people in this training, and the digital training; we want every seventh, eighth and ninth grader to be competent in this area and they can share it with their parents and grandparents,” said retired Col. Nate Todd, the working group’s facilitator.
Any funding left over can be used for training and similar programs, Launius said.
“Jefferson County has had a lot built here recently. It’s not behind, but it’s still got more to build here,” he said.