Sturm
A local internet provider’s expansion plans have been boosted by two grant opportunities totaling more than $1.3 million.
JCFiber, a subsidiary of JCREMC, was given a $1 million grant from Johnson County’s allotment of American Rescue Plan Act funds earlier this month. The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, is a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package that delivered direct relief to Americans and distributed billions to states to respond to the pandemic and to give to cities, towns and counties to respond to the pandemic. Indiana officials distributed $1.28 billion to communities, including about $30.7 million for Johnson County.
The money can be used for a variety of purposes, including responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, countering negative economic impacts of the emergency, providing premium pay to employees, off-setting lost government revenue, and upgrading water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.
There also is a provision approved in January that allows for up to $10 million in discretionary funds to be used for the provision of government services. It is very broad and gives the county some leeway for some projects, officials say.
JCFiber came to the county earlier this year with a request of $2 million to expand its service areas to give under-served county residents more internet options. The county ultimately decided to split the funds into two separate payments, the second of which is under discussion for later this year.
The $1 million the company has received so far will aid the company’s four-year expansion aimed at closing the digital gap between rural and urban areas of JCREMC’s service areas. The company is currently a year-and-a-half into the expansion, according to a JCFiber news release.
With the funds the company now has available from the ARPA grant, crews will be able to finish work in two of JCFiber’s under construction zones: Zones 2 and 3, the news release says.
Zone 2 encompasses an area south of State Road 44 to the Johnson-Brown county line and stretches east-to-west from just east of the Johnson-Morgan county line to near Nineveh. The main section of Zone 3 encompasses an area from just south of State Road 44 up to County Road 300 North in Bargersville and stretches east-to-west from near North 400 West to the Johnson-Morgan county line. The smaller section of Zone 3 that is located north of Zone 1 includes an area near state roads 37 and 144 near the Johnson-Morgan county line, according to JCFiber.
The investment from the county is a partnership. By partnering with the county, JCFiber can continue its moment in expanding broadband access to under-served residents, said John Sturm, president of JCFiber and CEO of JCREMC.
“It’s a great investment in the future of our county,” Sturm said.
This ARPA grant is not JCFiber’s only funding avenue. Company officials plan to continue to seek supplemental grants to offset the extensive costs of building out rural broadband infrastructure, the company says.
These grants include Indiana’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program. On Monday, state officials announced that JCFiber was one of 154 broadband projects across the state to receive funding during the third round of the grant. The grant program is the largest single-state investment in broadband, and since 2018, over $268 million has been awarded. When combined with private and local investment, over $580 million has been leveraged for the state, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
JCFiber received about $380,385 from the latest round of the NLC grant, and more than $306,000 of those funds will go to expanding access for 29 eligible Johnson County residents located in the company’s planned future zones in central and eastern Johnson County. The remaining funds will be used for projects in Morgan County.
While it is not a large number of households, all of the money received helps JCFiber with expanding, Sturm said.
“We continue to be focused on all under-served residences, including those not eligible for this grant,” Sturm said. “We are hopeful there may be a timely opportunity for a fourth round of NLC grants that will broaden eligibility to help with building future zones, while also helping us maintain and improve affordability of our fiber internet services.
Additional funding, both grant or ARPA-based, can open the door to improved pricing in the future. Affordability is at the top of the minds of the company’s employees, with the goal being to minimize monthly service prices rather than maximize profits, a principle JCREMC also uses, Sturm said in a news release.
“Our model is like our electric model. We are not operating under for-profit terms,” Sturm said.
For example, JCFiber’s only changes in monthly service prices have been price decreases. Another change also saw the initial contract period reduced to 12 months, the news release says.
JCFiber is also participating in the federal Affordable Care Plan to offer discounted broadband internet to eligible customers, according to the company.
There’s a variety of factors that affect the company’s affordability, including the additional grants. However, the company does not want to wait for the additional grants to be approved before providing more service, as it could delay projects, Sturm said.
Another key factor is the JCFiber’s take rate, or how many customers sign up for the service within a particular area with service. This rate is a factor because once people sign-up, the company gets revenue, so the more that sign up, the more revenue the company gets that could be used for improving or expanding its service, Sturm said.
“Every little bit helps,” Sturm said. “There’s a lot of factors there … but low rates are our goal.”
In terms of the company’s future expansion plans, planning is now underway for the second half of the four-year expansion. This half is expected to address the central and eastern portions of Johnson County, and will be divided into three zones: 4, 5 and 6, the news release says.
Details on exact areas for expansion are not yet clear, however. This is because the expansion areas are dependent upon what funding the company receives, whether its revenue or grants.
“We could announce them right now if we didn’t have to worry about funds,” Sturm said. “But there are things going on with the existing system and how it’s configured and there’s the potential (for) supplemental grants coming forward.”
JCFiber officials do not have expectations for more grants with large amounts similar to ARPA to be awarded to the company any time soon. The company does appreciate the funds it has received from the county so far, as it will help its customers at the end of the day, Sturm said.
Regardless of what funding may develop over the new few months, officials are hoping to announce the next expansion zone later this summer, Sturm said.
“We want to announce it, but we don’t want to leave money on the table too. Every dollar we get can lead to a more affordable internet,” he said.
