The Junction Internet LLC

PROJECT PURPOSE

The purpose of this project is to provide affordable high speed broadband to under-served communities in Northeast Oklahoma. With the requested funding of approximately $8.6 million, The Junction Internet would be able to provide every household in its coverage area with minimum 100/20 and upwards of 400/100 speeds. The requested funding would be able to directly and quickly bridge the digital divide for over 6,500 households and establish the infrastructure with the capabilities of supporting more than 70,000 individuals across Mayes, Rogers, and Nowata counties. Currently, The Junction participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program and has already seen how much of an impact providing affordable broadband can have on people in our community. By extending our network, it will allow us to not only service the under-served, but provide similar opportunities to those other communities in this project?s proposed area.

EVIDENCE

None

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Due to the impacts of COVID-19, remote work and e-learning have become essential. Based on 2018 FCC Form 477 filings and 2014-2018 ACS (American Community Survey) data, the amount of individuals without internet in the proposed project area averages around 43% and in some census tracts is as high as 64.4%. This is either due to the lack of access to, or the inability to afford adequate internet service. In addition to this, these communities are mostly small or rural which typically leads to them being passed over by providers due to the costly deployment of rural high-speed internet solutions. This project may be the only opportunity some of these communities have to gain affordable access to high-speed broadband.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

By following SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidelines along with the implementation of Evidence Based Practices and Project Metrics. Project performance will be tracked by the duration of deployment (see project timeline in supporting documents) and by the quality of service provided, which is tracked using in-house software that allows us to monitor speeds on a per user basis to ensure customers are receiving the correct speeds.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma