KENTUCKY — Scott County is buzzing as officials with the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) formally presented the Scott County Fiscal Court with its award of $3.1 million to expand the county’s broadband infrastructure. 

These funds come as part of the NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program and Scott County plans to use the grant to construct last-mile fiber to reach unserved households, community anchor institutions, and businesses.

Lawmakers in Congress voted last year for the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 which appropriated the federal funding for NTIA to run this grant program. The financial award is expected to finance a 406-mile expansion of broadband infrastructure that will reach all rural areas in Scott County, including 5,351 currently unserved households.

Charter Communications is the parent company of Spectrum News 1, and is a partner in the Scott County Rural Broadband Expansion Project.

Andy Berke, the Special Representative for Broadband at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration joins this 'In Focus Kentucky' segment to explain more details about the federal grant.

You can watch the full In Focus segment in the player above.