Work On Broadband Expansion In Mercer County Set To Finally Begin, Officials Say
Fiber-optic cable in a Telstra duct. Image: Bidgee via Wikimedia Commons.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
The Mercer County Fiscal Court has announced that work is finally going to begin on All Points Broadband’s $26 million project to deliver internet service to 3,332 unserved houses and businesses in Mercer County.
At their meeting on Monday, Nov. 10, Judge-Executive Sarah Steele informed the magistrates that she had met with All Points representatives last month about the project, which involves installing 301 miles of cable to deliver reliable internet service. The state will contribute $16 million towards the cost of the project while All Points will contribute $9.5 and the fiscal court is responsible for $1.4 million.
All Points first approached the fiscal court about expanding internet service in Mercer County in March 2022. After receiving bids from All Points and AT&T, the fiscal court entered into a formal agreement with All Points in June 2022.
Steele said the project had been “a long time coming, right?”
The deadline to complete the project is Dec. 31, 2026. Work on the project will start in December 2025 with the tentative start date in Mercer County as February 2026.
“They’re going to be laying fiber across the county in lots of rights-of-ways,” Steele said. She said an engineer will be working with the All Points and their contractor before work begins.
“I asked them to cut very little blacktop,” Steele said.
Once work begins, the fiscal court will get weekly updates. All Points also has a website, allpointsbroadband.com/mercer-county-project-faqs, where citizens can get their questions answered.
The fiscal court received their last official update from All Points in July.
Phillip Brown, director of government affairs for Kentucky for All Points Broadband, said they had finalized and submitted the environmental review and were moving from high level to field level design, which included surveying the area. Brown said the next step is field validated phase, in which construction drawings would be submitted to contractors. He said the provider had already met with the prime construction contractor and discussed the project.
The initial idea was for All Points to attach fiber optic cable to more than 5,000 poles spread across three different owners to connect the unserved areas of Mercer County. Back in July, Brown said All Points said directional boring might be a better option than running cable, he said.
“Directional boring is not as deep,” Brown explained. “We’re not digging a whole trench.”
Judge Steele said she had been ensured the engineer will be working with the county before work begins to ensure the boring does not disrupt other utility services.
“This is what they’ve told me,” Steele said. “I’m holding to hold them to that.”
