Gov. Steve Beshear, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers and Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Earl Gohl announced $1 million in grants to strengthen Kentucky’s effort to expand high-speed broadband to every corner of the state, starting in eastern Kentucky.
The funding will support the construction of a $4.5 million training facility to house the Broadband and Technology Education Center on the Big Sandy Community and Technical College Pikeville campus.
Beshear committed $500,000 in a Community Development Block Grant and Gohl pledged $500,000 through an ARC grant. The presentation was part of the ARC Annual Conference Meeting in Somerset this week.
Working in partnership with the University of Pikeville and the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, the BSCTC Broadband and Technology Education Center will house the Kentucky Regional Telecommunications Installation and Maintenance Training Program, and will serve as a hub of broadband education and training in the southeastern region of the United States.
The project is additionally funded by a $2.2 million grant from the federal Economic Development Agency announced last week, and $1.2 million from BSCTC.
With construction beginning on the high-speed, high-capacity broadband network, KentuckyWired or the I-Way in Eastern Kentucky, the demand for certified technicians in telecommunications installation and maintenance is already evident as telecommunications providers look to the future, Beshear said in a press release.
“We have hard working people in Eastern Kentucky who have been hit hard by a huge decline in coal jobs in recent years,” he said. “BSCTC sees the need for Eastern Kentuckians to train for jobs of the future and this training will support the building and maintenance of the KentuckyWired broadband network.”
The training program is designed for certifications in telecommunications installation and maintenance with options to continue into an associate’s degree program of study. Training will also be available to upgrade existing employee skill sets.
Kentucky has entered into a public-private partnership (P3) to finance, build, operate and maintain the network for 30 years. This partnership with Macquarie Capital allows the middle-mile project to begin sooner and be completed in three years, and it provides for maintenance and refresh of the network over the contract. The private partners have a target for hiring Kentuckians.
KentuckyWired is starting in Eastern Kentucky and over the next three years will spread throughout the state. It’s goal is to “break down geographic and financial barriers to education and economic development by providing affordable, high-quality Internet service to connect Kentuckians to the world,” the press release stated.
From Office of the Governor