Getting Better in Greene: Broadband Improvements in Greene

More Greene County residents can kiss their Wi-Fi woes away this year, as the county and Windstream are now partnered to increase broadband capabilities in the county this year.

In September 2020, the Greene County Commissioners published their plan in a press release on the Greene County website to invest toward internet broadband capabilities in the county. Now, they have completed their investments and the county’s issue of generally low-quality internet will be improved upon. 

According to the commissioners’ press release, which was published Sept. 6, 2020, their plan involved investing $1 million – $1.6 million toward the mission, using a feasibility study to determine where the improvements were needed most. Greene County Commissioner Mike Belding said the county ended up investing $1.2 million from a CARES Act grant and that everything the commissioners’ set out to accomplish in their plan was successful.

“Approximately 40% of our students did not have internet access last March when we sent them all home for COVID-19. That was our target audience, so we could get more individuals, residents, students and businesses access so they could operate during this COVID-19 pandemic,” Belding says.  

Residents in Bobtown, Carmichaels, Greensboro, Jefferson, Mount Morris and Waynesburg will see the improvements from the county’s investment, impacting 7,313 homes and businesses.

“[The pandemic] certainly emphasized that broadband is needed in Greene County, as well as all counties,” says Betsy McClure, vice chairmen for the Greene County Commissioners. “Because when you go to remote learning and your children can’t get on to connect with their teachers, that’s a big concern.”    

These areas were chosen for improvement by a feasibility study that the county started last year. While the study was occurring, the county sent out requests for proposals to experts in the broadband coverage industry. Belding said Windstream was the only company to send back a proposal. “Although this RFP process with Windstream is our current partner for this project, we want to partner with everybody,” Belding states. “We’ll bring everybody to the table with the request for proposals.”     

Belding says that the county and Windstream ended negotiations with the county investing $1.2 million, and Windstream investing $1.6 million. The county has already completed their investment, while Windstream will finalize their investment during the spring or summer of this year, said Belding. Windstream also secured a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a federal program designed to aid the increase of internet access in rural areas, totaling $13 million over the next 8-10 years.

“If you add all that stuff up, you’re going to get about a $16 million investment over eight years toward broadband in Greene County,” Belding says. Windstream will be working on the improvements for approximately the next 18 months. The improvements will include upgraded hardware and the installation of 171 miles of fiber. 

The COVID-19 pandemic did not hinder the operation greatly. There was a concern about a lack of materials in the broadband industry, but Belding said they worked around the issue. “We adjusted some areas from the original plan and worked through that so it could be completed on time and still with the results for those underserved areas,” Belding says. “It was not without more complications, but in the end, it was completed on time.”