Fed pays for fiber optics in foothills

“Their intent is to bring broadband access to the area, not to every customer, but to get the fiber optic backbone coming through,” Exeter City Manager Randy Groom said.

The Central Valley Broadband Infrastructure Project is being federally funded with the intent of connecting rural areas to Broadband access. The project is currently working in Farmersville and Exeter and has already completed work in Lindsay, Porterville, Lemoore, Corcoran, Hanford and unincorporated areas of Kings County. The project began in early December and is just now reaching the Eastern Tulare County cities and unincorporated areas between.

The project was designed by a consortium of agencies.

“Right now, we don’t even have access to high speed broadband,” Groom said. “This is really great news. Now private providers can tap into [the fiber optic spine] and market their service to customers. This is federal dollars doing some good in your area.”

Groom went on to specify that broadband service will not be available to locals until private providers come in and link homes and businesses to the cables that are currently being laid underground.

Broadband provides high speed internet via underground fiber optic cables to households and businesses. Local providers of broadband service in Visalia, where broadband is already established include Comcast, Charter Cable Internet and Time Warner Cable Broadband internet.