Arkansas Telecom Receives $24 Million USDA Loan To Build Fiber Network In Rural Yell County

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a $24 million loan to Danville-based ArkWest Communication to build a “fiber-to-home” network to provide voice, broadband and internet TV service to nearly 4,700 rural customers in the Yell County area.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that ArkWest was one of 25 projects to receive a portion of $190.5 million in grants and loans to provide rural telecom and broadband infrastructure improvements in rural areas across the U.S.

“Modern telecommunications and broadband access is now as essential to the businesses and residents of rural America as electricity was in the 1930s,” Vilsack said in a news release. “USDA is committed to ensuring that rural Americans have robust broadband and telecommunications systems. The investments we are announcing today will provide broadband in areas that lack it, help rural-serving public television stations begin using digital broadcasts, and support other telecommunications infrastructure improvements.”

ArkWest officials said company President and General Manager P.T. Sanders was out of state and not available to speak with Talk Business & Politics concerning the USDA award. However, ArkWest Plant Manager Tom May said the fiber outbuild improvements funded by the USDA loan are already underway and will improve the rural telecom’s current offerings to its customers.

“We are very excited for our customers,” May said. “This will allow us to offer IPTV and high-speed Internet to all of our customers.” May also said that ArkWest has met all the USDA funding requirements for the loan, which was contingent on recipients meeting all the terms of their grant or loan agreements.

Founded in 1939, ArkWest bills itself as community-minded rural telecom provider that offers everything from basic local and long distance telephone service to high speed internet and digital television service. In 2006, ArkWest garnered quite a bit of attention when it announced that it would be the first telecommunications provider in Arkansas to offer IPTV, or Internet Protocol TV, in most of Yell County and parts of Perry and Scott counties.

IPTV is the process of taking traditional cable and satellite TV content and streaming it over a data network to any device with an Internet connection. Telecom giants AT&T and Centurylink currently offer IP-based TV options through their respective U-verse and Prism TV services. Verizon FiOS also recently rolled out a limited IPTV service.

USDA said it is allocating the multimillion-dollar loan and grant package through three different federal programs. The Community Connect Grant program establishes broadband service in rural areas to boost economic growth and offer educational, health care, social and public safety benefits. The Public Television Digitation Transition Grant program helps public television stations serving rural areas acquire the equipment they need to transition from analog to digital broadcasts.

ArkWest was awarded its funding through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan program, which goes toward maintaining, upgrading or expanding rural telecommunications networks, the USDA said.

In addition to the ArkWest announcement, the USDA also released its 50-state “Made in Rural America” report, a state-by-state factsheet highlighting the department’s investments in rural communities across the U.S.

The report outlines the USDA investments in rural businesses, manufacturing, energy, water and other infrastructure development, as well as how it helps rural communities attract businesses and families by investing in housing and broadband.

According to the USDA, exports of farm and ranch products alone contributed $3.9 billion to Arkansas’ economy in 2012. The agency said it has made investments to help 178 rural businesses in Arkansas thrive and grow, including $122.9 to support new and improved broadband service for rural Arkansans and $248.5 million to support efficient water supply, treatment and storage facilities, and wastewater treatment systems.

To view USDA’s Arkansas factsheet, click here.