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(Pictured from left to right) Stacia Parker, Farmers State Bank; Charlie Holland, Farmers State Bank; Chris Healy, Farmers State Bank; Josh Watson, ProTek Fiber; Cam McCurdy, ProTek Fiber; Cindy Throgmorton, Farmers State Bank; Leslee Leverett, Farmers State Bank; Katie Barter, Farmers State Bank.
Fiber-optic Infrastructure Project Saves Dozens of Jobs and Creates Even More
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Illinois State Director Jesus Ortega recently announced that the agency is investing nearly $21 million to ProTek Fiber through Farmers State Bank of Alto Pass. ProTek Fiber is using the funding to install 700 miles of fiber to provide direct fiber-to-the-home service for more than 10,000 households, farms, businesses, and community anchor institutions in Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Union, Williamson, and Saline counties.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, USDA is committed to bridging the high-speed internet gap for people all across rural America, including here in rural Illinois,” said Ortega.
Direct fiber-to-home services allow people the digital capability to upload videos, podcasts and more within a reasonable timeframe. It’s important to the work of people like Josh Benson, who serves as the Marion (Illinois) Cultural and Civic Center Executive Director.
“My wife and I literally have been with ProTek from the very beginning,” said Benson. “We have direct fiber to our home that allows me to upload podcasts and videos to get word out about upcoming events without having to be at the office. What we have now allows us to be in a rural setting and yet have all the direct things that we need.”
Benson is just one of thousands of people with jobs that rely on the internet service the project provides. The project is critical for all walks of life, including farmers who need reliable broadband for everything from fertilizing to maintaining crops.
“This project is important for the rural communities in Southern Illinois and the people who live and work here,” said Ortega. “USDA Rural Development investments in high-speed infrastructure enables rural residents to access medical care from home, expands educational opportunities for students, connects businesses to new customers and markets, and creates jobs.”
Approximately 3.7 million additional feet of underground fiber have been installed, with about 280,000 feet remaining. This project has saved dozens of jobs and will create even more.
“From the standpoint of any kind of community growth, people move to communities that have all the amenities that they are looking for,” said City of Marion Chief of Staff Cody Moake. “We know we have a high quality of life. We know we have a low cost of living, but without those amenities like reliable broadband, you’re never going to get people to move into your community.”
A lighting ceremony is being planned for a day in May, with new installations continuing. Lighting ceremonies are traditionally a celebration when service is switched on. This lighting ceremony will be mainly symbolic as service has been turned on as installation has progressed.
The project involves some of the latest fiber internet technology that is available. For example, Adtran’s Mosaic One, offers SaaS and ALM fiber monitoring solution with deep passive optical network assurance.
“Adtran’s Mosaic One and scalable fiber access hardware enables us to rapidly and cost-effectively expand our network,” said ProTek Fiber Chief Executive Officer Cameron McCurdy.
“Expanding the availability of full-fiber internet in rural regions always has a transformative impact on communities,” said Adtran Vice President of North America Service Provider Sales Jeremy Harris. “We’re proud to have played our part in this important project and look forward to further collaborations with ProTek Fiber.”
The core network hardware is Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ (HPE) Juniper Networks Inc., which specializes in AI-driven automation software, switches, routers and network security.
“We are now at the epicenter of the transformation of IT, where AI and networking are converging,” said HPE President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio Neri.
The USDA Rural Development investment is through the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program.
ProTek Fiber construction team members Chris Duty (left) and Robbie Bute (right) stand next to a horizontal drill. The drill bores a path in the ground where fiber can run through to provide people in rural Southern Illinois with high-speed broadband.
To learn more about the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program visit the Rural Development website.
A close-up look at the head of a horizontal drill that bores a path in the ground where fiber can run through to provide people in rural Southern Illinois with high-speed broadband.
Rolls of orange conduit stand loaded on a flatbed truck ready to be transported to where it will be bored into the ground to provide encasing for fiber to be run through to provide people in rural Southern Illinois with high-speed broadband.
City of La Feria officials celebrated the Grand Re-Opening of the Bailey H. Dunlap Memorial Public Library.The City of la Feria has a population of 7,302 who will now have access to a state of the art computer lab and community meeting/training room.Mayor Pro-Tem Esmeralda… [Read More]
