At yesterday’s session the Commissioners accepted the proposal of Agile Network and with that they took a significant step towards providing broadband access for Darke County’s residents.
Commissioner Larry Holmes stated that the review of Darke County broadband access availability and needs started in summer 2021. Broadband may impact not just quality of life for the Darke County residents with access to education, tele-health, telecommute, and more but also the future ability of Darke County to compete for economic development projects.
Holmes said that Agile Network will be providing mid-mile broadband access to reach 90% or more of the households in Darke County through a wireless network which has potential internet speeds up to 150 Mbps. Agile will also be identifying and managing the last mile providers to get access into the homes and businesses in Darke County.
The plan utilizes five MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) towers, construction of a new tower in the Northwest area of the county and utilizing five public locations. The build out of this project is 18-20 months due to the construction time for the tower.
The project presents a $2.8 Million investment over 5 years. The county will be providing funding of $2.0 million over a 3-5 year period of time. The Commissioners are optimistic that Broadband Ohio will provide a significant grant to defray what the county must fund. Discussions with Broadband Ohio have been initiated.