Kentucky

McKee (KY) is a small town that sits mostly within the Daniel Boone National Forest and is about a one-hour, 20-minute drive from Lexington (KY), the nearest big city.

When the state of Kentucky made plans to award $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband deployments, the priority was on getting high-speed service to the neediest areas first. “Our priority with the ARPA funding was reaching areas that had no service,” said Meghan Sandfoss, executive director of Kentucky’s Office of Broadband Development. The state awarded the $300 million in ARPA funding in two rounds.

The state of Kentucky was allotted $1.1 billion to get every home hooked up to high-speed internet.

The town of McKee (KY), population 800, was ahead of the curve. The federal government is currently implementing the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, with the goal of connecting every home to high-speed internet by 2030. In McKee, the nonprofit Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative already did that—a decade ago. PRTC has about 55 employees and is based in Jackson County, where McKee is the county seat. PRTC borrowed $45 million from the federal government—in part from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a Great Recession-era stimulus bill.

Kentucky’s mountains, hills and large rural population have historically made broadband rollout challenging for the state, so in lieu of home internet, some residents depend on local libraries, such as the Spencer County Public Library in Taylorsville. The library has all the things you’d expect to find: children’s and teens’ sections, reading areas, community meeting spaces, as well as more than a dozen computers scattered around. Director Debra Lawson said that wh

Kentucky is working to remove barriers to digital adoption by creating opportunities through technology, affordable high-speed internet, and digital skills development for all people and businesses. The goal is to bridge the digital divide and ensure that each citizen can participate in the modern economy and society. Kentucky's affordability strategy leaned heavily on promoting ACP participation by eligible residents and internet service providers (ISPs). Of course, the ACP expired earlier this year due to a lack of funding.

Downtown Lexington’s (KY) Gatton Park on the Town Branch will have free public Wi-Fi provided by fiber-internet provider Kinetic in a nearly $1 million, multi-year deal to be the park’s exclusive Wi-Fi provider. Kinetic will install and sustain Wi-Fi gateways (modems/routers) throughout the park enablin

As part of his commitment to connect every home and business in Kentucky to high-speed internet, Gov. Andy Beshear announced today that the state has opened the Broadband Grants Management Portal for user registration. Registering is the first step in applying for funds from Kentucky’s $1.1 billion allocation from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Internet service providers, local governments and nonprofits are all eligible.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kentucky and Maine’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Kentucky and Maine to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.