GEARY COUNTY —Twin Valley Communications, a 4th-generation family-owned provider of gigabit broadband, fixed wireless, and IT managed services announce Monday the expansion of its Internet services to four counties in north-central Kansas, according to a media release.
With the recently awarded CARES Act and Connectivity Emergency Response grant dollars of $1.3 million, Twin Valley will be expanding its Internet footprint to reach underserved rural areas during a time when connectivity is critical.
As part of the grant award and proposal, Twin Valley is matching $868,200 of investment to deploy these broadband services. The projects will expand telework, telehealth, and distance learning opportunities in Geary, Riley, Dickinson, and Ottawa counties.
Households covered by the project will increase to a minimum of 25 megabits/second download speed and 3 megabits/second upload. In many cases, it can provide service up to 100 megabits/second. Another feature of Twin Valley’s build plans will result in approximately 15 miles of fiber optic cable to feed this initial deployment phase. This infrastructure will pass through multiple cities and will provide the foundation for future investment and even faster connections.
“We want to thank Governor Kelly, Department of Commerce & the Legislature for making these funds available for Kansans with inadequate broadband. The pandemic has made clear how critical adequate broadband is in our economy particularly to enable telework, telehealth, and distance learning. We would also like to thank the Geary, Riley, Dickinson, and Ottawa county, their respective city commissions, schools, hospitals for their leadership & support on our applications,” said Ben Foster, President & CEO of Twin Valley.
Twin Valley is extremely thankful for this opportunity as it supports its commitment to helping communities create meaningful connections and ensuring the long-term success of the communities it serves.