Planning for a ‘Broadband Breakthrough’ – Rural Illinois Counties Prepare for ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Funding Opportunity (Daily Yonder, Jan 29, 2024)

Edgar County

Through Broadband Breakthrough, the Edgar County broadband team learned about broadband planning, including local needs and the providers that served the county. Importantly, the Edgar County Broadband Breakthrough team realized that it needed to try to work with providers to create a cohesive solution to expand broadband to everyone. The team is led by Joshua Knight, and its members come from a variety of county organizations.

The Edgar County team set a goal to see ubiquitous broadband networks that are at least scalable to speeds of 100/100 Mbps. The team realized that there needs to be increased coordination between local communities and ISPs who are not expanding broadband access efficiently in the county. The Edgar County team is serving as a coordinator of these efforts.

Hancock County

Hancock County borders Iowa along the Mississippi River and competes with Keokuk, Iowa, to attract residents and businesses. One way to improve Hancock’s appeal is to get better broadband. Agriculture makes up approximately 70 percent of its gross domestic product.

Led by Samantha Harnack, the Hancock County team knew it had to educate residents and persuade them to get engaged and excited about deploying better broadband networks. The Hancock County Broadband Breakthrough website explains broadband terminology and uses clever illustrations about the timing of video game download speeds to show the benefits of fast, reliable internet.

During Broadband Breakthrough, McDonough Telephone Cooperative (MTC), a local broadband provider, received an $18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program to deploy fiber-to-the-premises in Hancock and surrounding counties. Another provider, NextLink, received $4 million from the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to deploy wireless broadband in the area.

Hancock County begins push for rural broadband to aid ag-industry
(WGEM, Jan 19, 2023)
Stakeholders meet to continue push for rural broadband in Hancock County
(WGEM, Feb 23, 2023)
Hancock County stakeholders discuss evolving ag-industry, need for broadband
(WGEM, Mar 20, 2023)
State of Illinois building Digital Equity Plan, holds Macomb townhall
(WGEM, May 3, 2023)
Hancock County broadband team concludes meetings, targets community education
(WGEM, May 15, 2023)

McLean County

McLean County, in central Illinois, is the home of Illinois State University and has a considerably larger population and population density than the other counties that have completed the Broadband Breakthrough program. The county team relied on Anthony Grant, a county staff member, for leadership but also had robust participation from the local farm bureau, a regional planning commission, and ISU staff.

Surveys indicated that residents want better broadband and are willing to pay for it. The McLean team gathered 135 pages of stories from community members, including one about a man with stage IV cancer who uses a cell phone to access email and apps to communicate with healthcare providers 120 miles away.

Since participating in Broadband Breakthrough, McLean’s team has created an ongoing effort called Accelerate Access McLean County (AAMC) to pursue quality broadband access for all residents. The team wants to pursue an open-access model network plan, has identified two possible providers, and just received an $80,000 grant from the Illinois Office of Broadband to help pay for a feasibility study.

McLean County conducting survey on rural high speed internet expansion (WGLT, Mar 16, 2023)

Ogle County

A veteran of the Benton Institute’s Accelerate program, Ogle County in north central Illinois is in the third year of a five-year broadband strategy. The Ogle County team is led by Patricia Nordman, Vice Chair of the Ogle County Board. Attaining better broadband for precision agriculture is the focus of this current effort.

Results from community broadband surveys highlighted community frustration with internet connections. The broadband team’s plan recognizes that the county needs a fiber backbone throughout the area before it can work on last-mile solutions. County leadership is investing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and other monies into networks and plans to continue to aggressively pursue grants.

Schuyler County

Schuyler County in west central Illinois has the smallest population and the lowest population density in the cohort. The terrain is varied. Rushville, the largest city and the county seat, has fiber infrastructure but only 37 percent of the county’s population lives within the city. The Schuyler County team is led by Schuyler Isley of the Schuyler County Economic Development Commission.

In its plan, the Schuyler team recognized that, due to the county’s size, the county government is unable to form a cooperative or become a broadband provider itself. Since participating in Broadband Breakthrough, the team has used the surveys and maps to divide the county into zones for phased broadband expansion that will make it easier for the team to attract and collaborate with multiple providers and seek funding based on the needs of each zone.