AT&T and Delaware County, Indiana are planning a public-private partnership to build a symmetrical 5 Gbps-capable fiber network passing approximately 1,250 locations in the county. The project is contingent on a final contract between the two parties.
Indiana has been public/private partnership central for AT&T as the company previously announced at least three other such projects in the state– one in Boonevile, one in Vanderburgh county and one in Martinsville.
Today’s press release doesn’t provide details about the terms of the partnership, but an AT&T executive told Telecompetitor previously that such partnerships are likely to involve the public entity contributing funding that it received through federal funding sources such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Detailed planning and engineering work on the Delaware county project will begin once the contract is finalized. The project is expected to be completed within 18 months of when the contract is executed.
“Bringing fast and reliable AT&T Fiber to Hoosier communities like this shows how we’re closing the digital divide through public-private partnerships,” AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards said in a press release. “This decision from the commissioners helps to bring the fastest and most cost-effective long-term internet solution to Delaware County.”
AT&T said previously that its deal with Booneville would make fiber broadband available to 4,000 addresses in the city. The project was valued at $4.4 million. The agreement was finalized in early July.
A few months earlier, AT&T had entered a public-private partnership with neighboring Vanderburgh County. The Vanderbugh project was valued at $39.6 million.
In September, AT&T and Martinsville agreed on a $6.3 million public-private partnership to offer service to 5,000 addresses in the city.
AT&T says that it invested more than $1 billion between 2019 and last year in wired and wireless projects in Indiana.
