Program will bring faster internet to thousands of First Coast homes in underserved areas

Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
An employee at a Jacksonville technologies company works on an LED fiber optic cable in this 2014 photo.
An employee at a Jacksonville technologies company works on an LED fiber optic cable in this 2014 photo.
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Broadband internet service will become available at about another 7,700 homes in Clay, St. Johns and Putnam counties through grants state officials announced this week to install additional fiber optic cables.

The First Coast-area grants, totaling $9.4 million, were part of $144 million in statewide spending in the Broadband Opportunity Program that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s Legislature funded through the federal American Rescue Plan.

The $400 million program in the state Department of Economic Opportunity reimburses businesses or local governments for installing cables in areas that are considered underserved, where high-speed service has been unavailable. Applications were collected in November and December.

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“Broadband internet service is essential for workforce development, education, and healthcare,” DEO Secretary Ben Melnick said in a release. “There is no doubt that the projects awarded today will shape the future of broadband in Florida, and we look forward to supporting the governor’s vision for a connected economy.”

Grants included coverage for cables to offer about 1,900 homes and 42 businesses in Keystone Heights, Middleburg, Clay Hill and other parts of Clay County upload and download speeds of 100 megabytes per second.

In St. Johns County, about 1,600 locations in Riverdale, Flagler Estates and Spuds will add 118 miles of cable capable of symmetrical upload and download speeds of one gigabyte per second.

Unserved areas in Putnam County will add 60 miles of cable with 1-gig speeds to about 1,200 locations. Another roughly 3,000 locations around Bostwick, Keystone Heights, Pomona Park, Interlachen, Melrose, Welaka, Putnam Hall, George’s Lake and unincorporated Crescent City are planned to receive cable able to download at least 50 megabytes per second and upload 10 megabytes per second.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High-speed internet coming to 7,700 Jacksonville area homes