FOWLER, IND. – Mainstream Fiber Networks today was joined by officials from the State of Indiana and Benton County to celebrate the completion of mainline construction on a new infrastructure project to bring fiber optic internet to the community. Mainstream has deployed over 100 miles of mainline fiber optic cable in Benton County, allowing the first customers to get connected while also supporting future service expansions into surrounding areas.
“As one of the least connected counties in Indiana, we are excited to bring a high speed fiber optic internet option to Benton County thanks to the tremendous vision of Governor Holcomb and Lt. Governor Crouch,” said Bryan Gabriel, CEO of Mainstream Fiber Networks. “All Hoosiers deserve the opportunity to have access to fast, reliable and affordable internet service.”
At the time of this award Benton County was ranked 91st in broadband service out of Indiana’s 92 counties. This means that most of Benton County’s residents do not currently have access to reliable internet of at least 10 mbps download speed at an affordable rate.
“The pandemic highlighted just how important it is to connect the underserved and unserved areas in our community with quality broadband,” said Indiana State Representative Sharon Negele. “Thanks to this $6.2 million investment in Benton County, thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses will now have access to high-speed, affordable and reliable internet. I congratulate Mainstream Fiber Networks on the completion of this project and thank them for delivering broadband to rural areas throughout the state. I’m committed to supporting more projects like this and will continue working hard on solutions to connect more Hoosiers to this critical resource.”
Through the state of Indiana’s Next Level Connections program, Mainstream Fiber Networks was awarded a grant in the amount of $3 million, with a local match of nearly $3.2, million for a total project cost of more than $6.2 million.
“I want to congratulate Mainstream on its investment in Benton County families and businesses,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. “With the completion of this project, we are taking a major step toward ensuring everyone in Indiana has access to reliable, high-speed broadband service and furthering our economic, educational and health opportunities as a state.”
Mainline construction is now complete with customers and businesses being connected throughout Benton County. All customers within our Next Level Connections Grant project area can now sign up for service at www.msfiber.net. This project will connect more than 2,435 unserved households and 554 unserved businesses in Benton County. Mainstream will plan expansion builds for an additional three to five years based on a variety of factors.
“Benton County has worked tirelessly for years to bring quality high-speed broadband to our communities,” said Paul Jackson, Benton County Economic Development Director. “Today marks a significant step forward in connecting our county and we will continue to build on our fiber infrastructure until every one of our residents has the opportunity for access.”
Mainstream Fiber Networks has also opened a regional office located at 109 S. Grant Ave., Fowler, Indiana 47499. The office will serve Mainstream’s residential and business customers in the county.