First permit approved, for Gage County ARPA-funded broadband project
BEATRICE – The first of seven permits for an upgrade of broadband service in central and northern Gage County was approved Wednesday by county supervisors.
The project, partly funded by $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act money received by the county, is in connection with NextLink...the company chosen by the county to undertake the upgrade.
The company will soon install new fiber lines from Birch Road to Sargent Road….between Southwest 100th Road and South 110th Road. County supervisor Emily Haxby has been a coordinator for the project.
"The ARPA project is finally starting. I think it will be probably another month, yet, before we actually see people putting in the conduit in the right-of-way. I think they will doing some boring, first. There's a lot of challenges to make sure that our maps are accurate...and I'm finding it very difficult to do, on my own. I need a little more help from the community to understand what the different technologies are...we can explain what this project is, where it's going, when its happening and focus on trying to get our maps accurate for Gage County. If our maps are accurate, then we can see more funding potential coming to Gage County."
The goal is to address unserved or under-served areas with higher speed internet service. Haxby announced that a meeting will be held aimed at increasing public understanding about the project.
"I found that even in villages, there's over-reporting happening which shows them as served, rather than as under-served."
A public outreach meeting will be March 30th, 7 p.m., at the 402 Sports Bar and Grill meeting room.