Surf Internet was the big winner in the tenth round of funding by the Indiana Connectivity Program (ICP), with an award of $2.6 million. The company will provide broadband to 548 addresses.
In all, the round awarded $3.3 million to bring broadband to 688 homes and 20 businesses in 38 counties.
The grant winners besides Surf include: Airwave Networks, LLC ($60,900 for 13 addresses); Auburn Essential Services ($23,666 for five addresses); Central Indiana Communications ($69,862 for 16 addresses); Jackson County REMC ($4,800 for one address); Johnson County REMC ($14,400 for three addresses); Joink Inc. ($143,152 for 36 addresses); Mulberry Telecommunications ($163,200 for 34 addresses); PSC Fiber ($141,136 for 36 addresses); SEI Communications ($72,000 for 15 addresses); and South Central Indiana REMC ($3,980 for one address).
The Indiana Connectivity Program, which the public can access through the Next Level Connections portal, is open to businesses or homes that have actual broadband speeds of less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.
The Next Level Connections Broadband program has been allocated $270 million to support a number of programs, including the Indiana Connectivity Program.
This is not the first success for Surf in the Hoosier State. In February of this year, it was one of ten providers receiving grants from the ICP. In all, more than $637,000 was provided to fund ten local providers. It was the eighth round of ICP funding. Total cost of the projects will be almost $1.8 million.
In February, 2023, Surf CEO Gene Crusie told Telecompetitor that the company initially used fixed wireless to reach rural areas. It transitioned to fiber in 2018. As of early 2023, Surf served about 75,000 locations with fiber and between 8,000 and 9,000 via fixed wireless. Surf is active in Michigan and Illinois as well as Indiana.
