BEDFORD – The Lawrence County Commissioners heard from Jeremy Elrod of Morley Corporation to expand broadband in Lawrence County Tuesday morning.
The commissioners have been consulting with Morley Corporation on possible routes to expand broadband services throughout the county. The company specializes in providing architecture, surveying, and engineering services. It also works in the broadband industry.
Morley sent out a Request for Proposal to receive applicant responses to deploy a network of high-speed broadband internet. Those responses needed to meet ARPA fund eligibility and were due by September 2. Those applications were presented to the commissioners this morning. The commissioners voted to take them under advisement and hopefully will have a decision made by the next commissioners’ meeting on October 11.
“We want to get the most bang for our buck,” added Morley. “We want the best proposals.”
Increasing broadband access has been a key topic of conversation over the last several months.
Any American Rescue Plan Act funds the county decides to allocate toward broadband projects must be spent by Dec. 31, 2024. However, the project would have an extended deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.
