In a 23-0 in favor vote, the Whiteside County Board approved a plan to bring reliable and robust fiber broadband access, to the underserved/unserved residents, businesses, and organizations of Whiteside County. As recommended to the Board by the Connect Whiteside Committee, the plan will see equitable deployment of approximately 1000 miles of fiber broadband access, to over 8000 addresses and over 21,000 residents. The project is estimated to cost in excess of $70 million. Whiteside County will commit $3 million from the ARPA funds the County received.
Whiteside County Board Chair James Duffy said, “T[hi]s vote is an important milestone for Whiteside County. Bringing high-speed broadband fiber to the entire County is a big thing. It is comparable to bringing the railroad to communities in the 19th century or the Interstate Highway system post WWII. The deployment of fiber broadband across the County will keep the County and its businesses competitive in today’s global environment. It will provide residents with an upgrade to their quality of life, whether its remote work, education, or healthcare, and greater access to entertainment options. The committee worked hard on this, and I believe we have chosen the right partner, Sand Prairie, to help us deploy broadband fiber to every corner of rural Whiteside County.”
The County and Sand Prairie (a service unit Jo-Carroll Energy, a local energy and broadband cooperative) will work together, to take advantage of the historic Federal and State broadband funding currently available to accomplish the project. Gary Camarano, Whiteside County Economic Development Director, commented, “This project will solve a long-term problem, leverage local engagement to ensure strong outcomes, and position the County to compete in a new digital economy, that allows more and more Illinoisans to work, live, learn, and recreate wherever they chose.”
The County recognizes that too many of its residents lack access to reliable, affordable broadband, a fact confirmed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of doing something about it.
The County took a methodical approach to measure the challenge, set clear goals, and select a provider partner through an open process. [This was] thanks, in part, to its participation in the Accelerate Illinois program, a collaborative effort supported by the Illinois Office of Broadband, University of Illinois Extension, and Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. The ConnectWhiteside Committee of 18 members met over a 14-week period, to discuss the connectivity problem; various methods to address it; best practices from across the Nation; the results of a community survey. The committee then researched potential Internet Service Providers (ISP), and followed up with an extensive interview process to select the ISP finalist. The result of the selection process was a unanimous vote of the committee to select local provider Sand Prairie.
“Since 1939, we have been delivering utility solutions to local underserved and unserved rural residents and communities in Northwest Illinois, to enhance the quality of life,” said Mike Casper, Jo-Carroll Energy President and CEO. “We look forward to working with the County to accelerate the buildout of high-speed fiber internet service to homes, businesses, and communities throughout Whiteside County.”
Why This Matters Whiteside County, like thousands of other rural communities across the Country, faced what appeared to be a problem beyond its resources–the deployment of reliable, robust, and affordable broadband fiber internet. The reality of the problem was that private sector providers did not view this market as being economically viable. The result was often vast underserved and unserved areas of rural communities.
With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (and the havoc it brought to the work place, education, and healthcare), Federal and State Governments have made historic amounts of grant funding available, to assist local Governments in addressing this problem. The current window of opportunity to receive these grants requires action in the immediate future. Whiteside County will commit $3 million from the ARPA funds the County received. In addition, Jo-Carroll Energy will apply for matching grants funds to help accomplish the buildout in Whiteside County.
The result will be the equitable deployment of a reliable fiber broadband network across the County; availability of broadband access to the entire County; an answer to the broadband inequities that currently exist in the County.
Penny VanKampen, Whiteside County Treasurer, said, “This is huge! As a family that lives in underserved rural Whiteside County, we have experienced the lack of fast and reliable internet connectivity. We have school-age children in the family, and it was really a problem with remote learning during the pandemic, as well as work-related and quality-of-life issues. I am really looking forward to having a fast, reliable internet connection.”
What’s next? With the Board’s approval, the County and Sand Prairie will finalize an agreement to work together; perform necessary engineering studies and project plans; write and submit grant applications. The process will require close cooperation between the parties to accomplish the deployment of 1000 miles of fiber.
The estimated life of the project is five years. Camarano states, “This will definitely be worth it–for the improved quality of life and competitiveness it will bring to the County. This is a game changer for the County.”
