News

Watch Communications, Microsoft to expand broadband in rural areas

Watch Communications is teaming up with Microsoft to expand broadband in underserved areas in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

Greg Jarman, chief operating officer of Watch Communications, says they will be able to provide coverage in challenging areas.

“The goal here is to reach people who can’t get service or can’t get broadband speeds of service,” he says. “So, the goal is to lift those people up in addition to the areas where federal dollars have been given to upgrade.”

Watch Communications, which provides service in those three states, was awarded $52.4 million to expand its network as part of the Connect America Fund project. Jarman says they expect to expand even more as a result of the Microsoft Airband Initiative, focused on extending broadband access to three million people in rural America by July 2022.

He says deployment of technologies, including TV white spaces, is expected to cover more than four million people, including more than 800,000 people in rural areas without access to broadband.

“There are 818,000 potential customers in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio that today don’t get a 25 megabits per second internet connection and so those are the ones we’re targeting,” he says.

Jarman says access to broadband is critical to rural communities.

“They’re not looking to streaming video, they’re looking to be able to do their homework or be able to work from home,” he says. “we believe the people in rural markets should have the same quality services as those who live in the cities and towns.”

Watch Communications is looking for opportunities to extend internet service by partnering with landowners who have structures like grain elevators or grain legs. For more information contact Tony McAhren, public-private advocacy manager for Watch Communications at [email protected].  

Watch Communications is a subsidiary of the 100-year-old Benton Ridge Telephone Company. The company began as a wireless cable TV provide in 1992 and expanded service offerings in 1998 to include Internet. It services rural markets and focuses on underserved areas in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

Audio: Greg Jarman, Watch Communications