Last year, Boone County was selected as the sole Northern Kentucky county to receive grant funds for high-speed internet expansion via the Broadband Deployment Fund. Now, the county is closer to actually receiving those dollars.
During Tuesday’s regular session, the Boone County Fiscal Court approved the submission of final documents related to the grant, which clear the way for the funds to be received.
In 2022, Boone County submitted a grant application to the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund to assist with funding for the fiber (network) project, Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster said.
“We were pleased the state awarded Boone County $808,832,” Webster said. “We were the only Northern Kentucky county that got anything.”
The county’s internet expansion effort has involved a build-out of fiber to every household in the county, resulting in universal access to a system capable of delivering 1 gigabyte of service, officials said.
“With the broadband project at completion for single-family units, we are in a position to submit final documentation and receive this funding,” Webster said. “With the Court’s approval and authorization to execute all of the required documents, staff will finalize the grant, make application to receive the funding and provide that to the county treasurer.”
The funds were federal dollars the state legislature allocated to broadband, Moore said.
“I was disappointed that it wasn’t more,” Boone County Judge/Executive Gary W. Moore said, adding the allocation was impacted by a challenging process from providers maintaining the areas targeted for expansion were already served. “We requested $5 million because in the legislative action that set up this fund, I think that was the sweet spot.”