(Greensburg, IN) – Decatur County REMC is one of the first organizations in Indiana to sign their federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program contracts, marking a landmark moment in the effort to close the rural digital divide across the state.
Decatur County REMC will receive $7,133,202 in BEAD funding, matched by $6,534,465 in cooperative investment, to deploy fiber-to-the-home broadband service to unserved communities and businesses in Decatur, Ripley, Franklin, Jennings, Rush, and Bartholomew counties.
Greenfield-based NineStar Connect has also signed a BEAD contract, and will set up infrastructure in Decatur, Rush, Shelby, Fayette, Hancock, Henry, and Madison counties.
The contract signings were announced during an event at Decatur County REMC headquarters in Greensburg on Tuesday afternoon.
The BEAD Program is administered through the Indiana Broadband Office and is a federal initiative designed to close the rural digital divide by expanding access to high-speed internet for unserved and underserved communities across Indiana.
“When rural Indiana needed broadband and no one else was stepping up, Indiana’s electric cooperatives did,” said John Cassady, CEO of Indiana Electric Cooperatives. “Indiana cooperatives have independently invested to bring high-speed internet to families, farmers, and businesses that have gone without access for far too long. BEAD builds on that investment. We appreciate the hard work and dedication from the Indiana Broadband Office in making this investment possible.”
“This is an important first step in Indiana’s BEAD rollout,” said Megan Minor, chief broadband officer for the Indiana Broadband Office. “Decatur County REMC and NineStar Connect have
demonstrated the kind of readiness and community commitment this program was designed to support.”
Decatur County REMC will deploy a fiber-to-the-home network delivering internet speeds of up to 2 Gbps symmetrical to member-consumers.
Construction is expected to begin in August, with the entire project scheduled for completion by August 2027.
Decatur County REMC will begin offering service as construction progresses, and consumers will be able to subscribe as soon as fiber construction is completed in an area.
All locations included in the project are expected to have service available by August 2027.
“This funding is transformational for our members,” said Brett Abplanalp, CEO of Decatur County REMC. “Access to quality broadband is essential to how people live, work, learn, and do business. For too long, our members have been left on the wrong side of the digital divide. With the assistance of BEAD funding, we can finally change that — and as a cooperative, we’re committed to doing it right, with fiber infrastructure that will serve our members and our communities for decades to come.”
