Decatur County REMC Signs Indiana's First $7.1 Million BEAD Contract as State Targets 123,000 Locations
Updated
Updated · ipm.org · Jul 18
Decatur County REMC Signs Indiana's First $7.1 Million BEAD Contract as State Targets 123,000 Locations
2 articles · Updated · ipm.org · Jul 18
Summary
$7.1 million in BEAD funding cleared Decatur County REMC to start construction within weeks, making it Indiana's first awardee to sign a broadband grant contract.
The Greensburg cooperative and its local match will extend fiber to about 2,800 homes and businesses around Greensburg, Napoleon, Millhousen and St. Paul, with most work expected to finish by year-end.
Indiana says the federal BEAD program will reach roughly 123,000 underserved homes and businesses in 91 of 92 counties, with grants of just over $483 million matched by $373 million from providers.
That total is below Indiana's original $868 million federal allocation after Trump administration rule changes allowed lower-cost technologies and private expansion reduced the number of eligible locations.
Construction starts the final phase of a national $42.45 billion broadband effort that still faces contract, labor, materials and permitting hurdles even after years of federal delays and revised rules.