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What is it?

On August 18, 2010 it was announced that Delta Communications, LLC, dba Clearwave Communications, a southern Illinois company headquartered in Harrisburg, has been awarded $31.5 million in grant funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Through this project, Clearwave Communications will deploy a high-speed fiber middle mile network across a 23-county region of southern Illinois to address the lack of adequate broadband access for community anchor institutions in many of the region's rural, economically distressed counties. The State of Illinois, through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), is also supporting the project by pledging more than $11 million in matching funds. Additional private funding brings this southern Illinois project total to more than $45 million.

Over the next three years, Clearwave will construct more than 740 miles of new fiber optic cable in southern Illinois to connect more than 200 community anchor institutions with speeds between 10 Mbps and 1 Gbps, including K-12 public schools and institutions of higher learning, public safety entities, libraries, and healthcare facilities. Additionally, the project includes plans to offer points of interconnection for last-mile providers in the proposed service area   ......
 

Key Project Facts:

  • More than 740 Miles of Fiber Cable
  • Covers 23 Counties in Southern Illinois
  • 232 Anchor Institutions Connected
    • 111 Schools (K-12)
    • 60 Medical and Healthcare Providers
    • 28 Public Safety Entities
    • 23 Libraries
    • 9 Community Colleges
    • 1 Major University (SIU-C)
  • Key Public Private Partnerships:
    • IBOP-East Central Region (ICN)
    • CSI-911 (Next Generation E911)
  • Completed by August 1, 2013
  • Services Ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps
  • Total Project Budget: $45,395,020
    • Federal Funding: $31,515,253
    • State of Illinois Funding: $11,351,250
    • CSI-911 Funding: $400,000
    • Private Funding: $2,128,517