We Are In Our Construction Era

The Other 5 Active Projects

By the time our RUS Reconnect 1 project breaks ground, we will wrap up 3 of 5 of our other active broadband grant projects, nail the halfway milestones on one actively under construction, and hopefully wrap up the cumbersome environmental requirements to kick off the 5th.

Kanokla is leveraging state broadband dollars to connect more communities to our robust core network.

1. In Kansas, we successfully buttoned up our Lasting Infrastructure Network Connectivity grant project east and south of Anthony, ironically connecting a grandson of a founding director of Kanokla who lives just outside District 1, where Kanokla began. It is truly a small world after all.

2. Another Kansas win: Round 4 of a Broadband Acceleration Grant is well underway to connect the gap between Kanokla member communities and Wellington. The gap fill has been our main driver in our grant applications because they are feet away from our robust network (saving $$ by utilizing existing networks) plus they are the least connected populations in our country: the donut surrounding county seat towns (qualified underserved locations). We have served these “in-between” areas for decades with our fixed wireless tower to rooftop service, and are thrilled to convert them to buried fiber optic future-ready connectivity.

3. We are excited to wrap up two big county seat projects in Oklahoma. Both the Cherokee and the

4. Medford fiber optic projects were Oklahoma ARPA grant projects. We chose to invest more of our own dollars in these pivotal locations that connect member areas on either side. Nothing is free. Grants are laden with compliance and higher match dollars to edge out a win, and once it's built, there is much to do including updating electronics every 5-7 years.

5. Our 5th project is unlike any of the rest. We are building a tribal broadband award for the Kaw Nation in their Kaw City headquarters. We have served the Kaw tribe as a member and business in our Braman cooperative area for years. We appreciate the trusted relationships and opportunity to bring this award to life for future generations in the Kaw City and Newkirk area.

Potential Projects 6 & 7

We have submitted applications for the federal BEAD grant in Kansas and Oklahoma, both projects are strategic in filling in more areas between our member communities.

While technically on pause by Washington, the push to finish is garnering loud expressions of frustration by many states. We have slogged through nearly 3 years of cumbersome federal requirements placed on rural areas that have no time or capacity to bear it. Nothing new will change that. Now that we are in the final stretch to actually build the broadband, the project is on hold.

It’s ugly and now plagued with unfortunate political undermining, but we are pursuing the BEAD program as a defensive play rather than offensive. We knew from the beginning it would be a complete dumpster fire, but BEAD has exceeded our expectations. We will continue to pursue with positivity and make the best of the opportunities before us.