NCKCN, a broadband internet service network covering North Central Kansas, will soon be extending its high-speed wireless internet to pockets of unserved and underserved broadband areas in four North Central Kansas counties.
“The need for high speed, high quality broadband internet affects the most critical aspects of our rural counties,” Todd Tuttle, NCKCN system administrator said. “Educational institutions, economic development and commerce, population growth and medical services all rely heavily on every resident or household having access to reliable internet services.”
The expansion project will include portions of Cloud, Jewell, Mitchell and Republic counties. It will increase internet connectivity for rural residents and businesses in areas where accessing quality high speed internet is difficult. NCKCN will build a hybrid fiber-wireless solution to provide customers with fast, affordable, low latency internet access with no data caps. To see a map of the newest available coverage areas, visit http://www.nckcn.com/coverage.
NCKCN is collaborating with Cunningham Telephone and Cable (CTC) to extend broadband to these underserved areas by leveraging CTC’s neighboring fiber network. NCKCN and CTC are both local North Central Kansas companies that have a long history of providing internet solutions for the region.
The new service will offer internet speeds of up to 50X10Mbps to residents and up to 50X50Mbps to businesses. New customers in the expansion area who sign up for service will receive free installation and a wireless router. This project is an extension of NCKCN’s proven fixed wireless deployment, which it has offered since the early 2000s.
“The rise of COVID-19 has made it more apparent than ever that residents in our region need access to high speed internet,” Tuttle said. “We are pleased to expand our services to help meet that need.”
Installations will be on a first come-first served basis. The expansion will begin immediately and is anticipated to be complete before the end of 2020.
This project is made possible, in part, through a Connectivity Emergency Response Grant, which was created to address the increased need for internet connectivity in Kansas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was awarded as part of the state’s Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Economic Development and Connectivity grant application process made available from federal CARES Act funding.
North Central Kansas Community Network (NCKCN) has served North Central Kansas communities with internet service since 1995. It is headquartered in Beloit, Kansas, and is a 501(c)3 affiliate of the North Central Regional Planning Commission. In Jewell County service is being added i the southwest corner and alon most of the eastern portion.
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