Spectrum project to provide broadband to homes and businesses in Madison County

Debra Murray, Richmond Register, Ky.
·3 min read

Jun. 7—Charter Communications and state and local officials kicked off construction of a fiber-optic network expansion project which will provide Spectrum services to homes and businesses throughout Madison County on Monday, June 6 at 11:30 a.m.

The project plans to bring gigabit broadband and other Spectrum services to more than 800 homes and small businesses in Madison County, according to a press release by Spectrum.

"This is one of many milestones in our community to connect Madison County," County Judge Executive Reagan Taylor said on Monday. "The definition of community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. That means a group of people who want the same things — our community to be better — and that is exactly what today is all about. It is also about supporting Spectrum Charter for bringing high speed internet to another 1,000, or better, unserved people in Madison County."

The buildout is part of Spectrum's approximately $5 billion investment in unserved rural areas, which includes $1.2 billion won in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction.

This project will provide access to news, better internet, and television to homes in need, while also providing stronger internet, television, and voice to businesses.

"My goal has always been to make my role as Madison County Judge Executive about community leadership and making Madison County better," Taylor said. "The role of a community leader is not to fix the community's problems, but rather to work together with all community members. And that's what we're here."

Nationwide, Charter Communications and Spectrum has provided broadband to nearly 500,000 homes and businesses — 34.6% in rural areas throughout the nation and roughly 8,949 homes and businesses in Kentucky.

Ellen Cole of Spectrum said construction has already begun to provide these services in Madison County.

"We are so excited to be here to make the announcement that construction is already underway on a fiber optic network expansion project that is going to bring gigabit broadband and other spectrum services to several hundred homes and small businesses in Madison County," Cole said. "This build out is part of Charter's approximately $5 billion investment in unserved rural areas which includes 1.2 billion in the US federal rule digital opportunity funds. We call it our 'all' funds. These grants come from the federal government. The companies are always paying to provide for automated access to approximately 1 million new customer locations across 24 states in the coming years."

With constant use of the internet, having access to broadband is a necessity, Cole said.

"We've seen how incredibly important broadband is, it's just a necessity of modern life," Cole remarked. "We know the challenges that all communities are facing when it comes to connectivity and we've made it our number one mission to bridge this gap. We look forward to serving more homes and businesses and Kentucky and Madison County in the upcoming months and years."

Spectrum expects to hire more than 2,000 employees and contractors nationwide to support the RDOF and future rural buildout initiatives, including local crews in state for network construction. Spectrum currently employs more than 3,000 people in Kentucky, with employees earning at least $20 an hour including target commissions, according to a press release from Spectrum.