On Thursday, February 22, residents of La Porte County joined together at the Kankakee Valley Rural Electric Membership Corporation (KVREMC) in Wanatah to take a step forward in bringing high-speed broadband internet to their homes. The event, hosted by KVREMC and Surf Internet, aimed to educate residents about the opportunities offered by the Indiana Connectivity Program (ICP) and guide them through the application process.
KVREMC CEO Scott Sears attended Thursday’s event and said, “We take pride in contributing to our community and being a community-oriented organization. Acknowledging the underserved nature of rural communities in terms of broadband access, we were happy to host this event for the benefit of our residents,”
Rural communities are in dire need of broadband, with residents and local leaders getting proactive in any way they can to bridge an increasingly widening digital divide. That need was evident Thursday evening, with residents of La Porte County lining up out the door.
The statewide Indiana Connectivity Program is working to connect residents and businesses that lack access to broadband internet service with service providers, and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations. Residents are required to apply to the program individually so that the ICP can verify eligibility and assess each address on a case-by-case basis.
Surf Internet team members were on hand to address questions and walk attendees through the application process at computer stations located throughout the community room at the REMC.
Gene Crusie, Surf Internet CEO, was at the event to lend his support and enthusiasm, saying “One of the best ways for communities to get access to high-speed internet is by making their voices heard. Applying to the ICP is a powerful way to directly communicate with the state and high-speed internet providers, ensuring their communities can bring home this transformational technology.”
Indiana residents and businesses without access to internet services, or those with service speeds less than 100 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload, are eligible to apply. Internet service providers, including Surf Internet, will later have the opportunity to bid on state Next Level Connections Broadband Grant funds to help provide high-speed internet to communities in need.
“Anything that we can do to help companies expand broadband access to rural communities, will get our support,” said Sears.
Director of Business Development for Surf Internet, Scott Franko, praised the collaboration, saying “We appreciate Kankakee Valley REMC, who have been serving this area for a long time as the Electric Co-op, for hosting this together with Surf. The world needs more and more broadband because it is becoming just as essential as a utility, just like electricity. Just like co-ops worked with rural residents decades ago to deliver power, we are joining with communities and leaders like KVREMC to serve more people with high-speed broadband.”
While local residents may be enthusiastic about broadband, they may not be aware of grant opportunities offered to their area. Spreading the word among their communities can have a major impact in raising awareness and getting local, regional, and state action on the issue.
Surf Internet, for their part, has been taking a proactive approach to informing the public about the many grant opportunities that can help residents have a better chance of getting high-speed internet delivered to their locations. The event is just one way to assist them in everything they need.
“The goal for this type of event is beyond the networking, it is the fact that we are trying to reach residents of the counties that can keep KVREMC serving and let them know about this ICP program, which a lot of people just are not aware of,” said Franko.
For more information visit: https://surfinternet.com & to find if you can get Surf Internet in your area: www.iwantfiber.today