DILLER, NE — Areas of eastern Jefferson and western Gage counties in Nebraska will soon benefit from round two of the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program recently announced Dec. 6, 2022. 

Diller, Neb.-based Diode Communications will be receiving partial grant funding to assist in placement of 60 miles of buried fiber optic facilities to 145 rural homes. The new state of the art fiber will provide high speed broadband capable of gigabit speeds and more. 

In Jefferson County, a public-private partnership is being established between Diode Communications and Jefferson County using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds earmarked for broadband expansion. When combined with State of Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act grants, the fiber improvement will cover 102 unserved homes in the county. 

"We are excited to partner with Diode Communications to help bring fiber broadband to areas of unserved Jefferson County. We look forward to even greater expansion opportunities in rural unserved areas in the future," Jefferson County Commissioner Chairman Mark Schoenrock said. 

In Gage County, Diode Communications and nebraska Broadband Bridge funds will be utilized to bring fiber to 43 unserved homes in a project area called "West Ellis". The focus of the improvements here will include areas of western Gage County mainly south of Highway 4. 

"We are pleased to have been approved for the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program grants to help us continue fiber broadband expansion to our neighbors in Jefferson and Gage Counties. We look forward to evaluating opportunities to bring the benefits of fiber broadband to more areas in the future," Diode Communications President Randy Sandman said.