On Aug. 8, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb traveled to Spencer County and announced Perry-Spencer Rural Telephone Cooperative (PSC) will receive nearly $15 million in grants from the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program. This new program is designed to foster broadband infrastructure development in unserved areas across the state of Indiana. Southern Indiana Power and PSC have formed a new partnership and nearly $6.5 million of the total grants awarded will be utilized in Southern Indiana Power’s territory. 

This is exciting news for sure for both SIP and PSC members. One of the main goals of the new partnership is to deliver fiber to the home services (FTTH) to all Southern Indiana Power members.

Now you may be asking (if you don’t already have access to fiber), will I be included in this project? The answer to this question is a resounding “YES.” This project will be a huge undertaking and will take several years to complete. In fact, the pink and purple colors on the map show areas where access to fiber currently does not exist. This new fiber network must be built out prior to connecting any Southern Indiana Power members in these areas.

This new broadband partnership will provide both Perry and Spencer counties a way to grow both economically and technologically into the future. It will also create a whole new environment for our younger members by providing them with the ability to stay and raise a family in our rural areas they’ve grown up in, while staying connected to the “modern world.”