This sign for the Miami-Cass REMC at 3086 W 100 North, shown on Friday, Dec.. 4, 2020 in Logansport. Staff photo Jonah Hinebaugh
The students in rural Cass County could have the ability to get on unlimited, high-speed internet for classes by early 2021.
The Cass County Commissioners are expected to vote on a contract to start work on that at their regular meeting, 1 p.m. Monday at the Cass County Government Building.
The plan is to provide 50% of the county’s underserved areas with their first high-speed internet connections by the end of the first year’s buildout.
Work could begin almost immediately on an internet fiber ring around Cass County, and that’s projected to be finished in six months to a year.
The commissioners, who control the policy and rules part of county government, approved the concept at their Nov. 16 meeting.
The Cass County Council, which handles the fiscal part of county government, approved a $1.4 million expenditure to pay for the county’s share of the $2 million project.
That happened at the council’s Nov. 20 meeting, and County Commissioner Ralph Anderson told the council members that the commissioners wanted to finance the project with $1.2 million Cass has left from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
The other $200,000 will come from economic development funds, and the remaining $600,000 will be a cost for Miami-Cass REMC, which will be the company providing the services and installing the cable lines.
The entire project should be fully installed within five years, ready for people to connect their homes and businesses during the process.
Some places would be ready to connect immediately, based on location.
“Build out” cables from the ring towards rural areas would be completed in 12 to 18 months, according to the plan Anderson provided the council members.
But before the cable is in and people can hook into it, the REMC will provide internet signals given off from towers positioned around Cass.
Devices in the rural areas will be able to pick up the signals.
The REMC officials said they have enough cable to begin work immediately because they planned to increase their area after purchasing Broadway Broadband in 2010.
Anderson said most companies don’t have the necessary cable on hand, and there’s a one- to two-year wait for it.
Also, the price is set with them, so if there are cost overruns, Miami Cass County REMC would be responsible for them, said Anderson.
REMC Director of Information Technology Matt Mavrick said the cost to customers would depend on the speed they want, and 120 MB would be $55 a month while 300 MB would be $80.
If people can’t afford internet and need it, such as for school, it can be subsidized, Mavrick said.
“Our highest priority is the children who are in school and the underserved,” Anderson told the council. “When you’re in class at home, you have to have high speed.”
The county has listed other benefits: People working from home, as more employers embrace telecommuting; an increase in home values; filling in where cellphone coverage is weak or missing, and attracting businesses to the county, according to the plan.
“There is no bigger economic development than broadband,” said Anderson, explaining why Cass County Economic Development will pay for some of the costs.
Also, each township in Cass County will have a “hotspot for two years without charge,” he said.
That open Wi-Fi will be in a place the public meets, like a community center, Anderson said.
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