By Alex Walters
The Creek County Board of Commissioners approved CimTel and FiberLink’s request to partner with the county in running new underground broadband cables through a portion of the county to reach over 2000 people. CimTel and FiberLink would do the heavy lifting and lay the cables, and as lead applicant, the county would apply for the grant from the federal Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP).
This would bring high speed broadband networks to places that maybe haven’t had them before. The applicants explained that the Federal Communication Commission requires entire census blocks to be marked as having service, even if only a few of the homes do, making it difficult for those areas to be eligible for programs such as this one. However, the applicants said once they’ve completed the project funded by BIP, they’ll still go back and link anyone not eligible with their own funds. “We don’t plan to pass a house and not give them fiber – it’s just which fund gets which houses,” he said. The grant funded cables would reach 1600 people including portions of Drumright, Mounds and Pretty Water. Another 800 people will be covered in the second project funded by the company.
The project is estimated to take about three years, and despite a stipulation of the grant is for projects to be completed within a year, the applicants weren’t worried as long as the County would help them file for extensions. They wanted to be realistic and upfront with their timeline since the cables would be underground, and running the fiber means fighting Oklahoma terrain.
The Council agreed the benefits would be great to the county, and the request was unanimously approved.
