Opticon Broadband
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Opticon Broadband Nancy Marks High-Speed Internet Plan for Broadwater County Advances
Plans of a Bozeman communications company to bring high-speed internet service to Broadwater County via fiber optic cable is high on a list of ConnectMT awards recommended by a state advisory commission and sent to Gov. Greg Gianforte for his approval.
Last Wednesday, the commission recommended $309 million in broadband grants on 62 projects in rural areas across the state. Montana Opticom’s request for a grant of nearly $10 million from the federal stimulus money was given the seventh-highest priority on the list recommended to the governor.
Montana Opticom, LLC, based in Bozeman, proposes to lay a fiber optic trunk cable from Three Forks to Winston along Highway 287 as the first phase of a network that would eventually connect to homes and businesses.
In an interview with MT 43 News, Opticom general manager, Dean Nelson, expressed a note of caution about the approval process. “Recommendations are just that. They are not set in stone,” he said. “We have applied for two projects, one in Gallatin County and this one in Broadwater County. If funded, the Gallatin county project will link our network to Three Forks Junction.” The Gallatin project grant application is for $7.26 million.
As approved by resolution of the Broadwater County commissioners in October, funding could include a loan of up to $60 million from the county, financed by industrial development revenue bonds issued by the county. The bonds would be sold to an underwriting financial institution. The county would be serving as a conduit and not responsible for any liability.
Opticom plans to build connecting optic fiber to Radersburg and the east side of Canyon Ferry Lake.
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks
Image 1 Caption: Opticom Laying Fiber Optic Lines
