The Crossville Telephone Company is being awarded a Connect Illinois grant for more than $7 Million through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development. The grant is a capital improvement project to build Fiber To The Premise (FTTP) service to the rural Crossville area. According to a release from Crossville Communications, the funding will allow the company to improve its network to underserved broadband subscribers by offering 1G fiber service. Additionally, the fiber network will be scalable as the need for increased broadband service continues.
As everyday applications continue to utilize broadband service, faster and more reliable broadband is quickly becoming a necessity. Better broadband will benefit farmers by allowing them to deploy more precision ag tools, improve efficiency, and allow them to be more competitive. Students will have fast, reliable broadband service for e-learning, and residents will gain more opportunities to work remotely according to the statement. Furthermore, Crossville Communications says it’s crucial for attracting long-term investment and creating jobs in the rural area.
The Crossville Telephone Company was formed in 1917 to provide telephone service to rural residents of Crossville during World War I. The company grew to include the Village of Crossville. In the 1990s, the company formed two subsidiary companies, Crosslink Long Distance and Crosslink Wireless. Crosslink Wireless was a founding investor in First Cellular of SI. As the need for internet services grew, the company became an internet service provider after years of wholesaling internet services for Shawnee Communications. Since 2016, Crossville Communications has improved its copper network by building Fibert To The Node service to seven rural locations. The Fiber To The Premise project will bring the best broadband service available to rural residents of Crossville.
The Connect Illinois grant project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. Crossville Communications wants to thank supporters during the grant application process including business and residential customers, local governments, CWC Schools, Wabash Valley Service Company, and the White County Farm Bureau.
