Kendall County plans to build $16M rural fiber optic network to bring internet to county’s rural areas

Rural areas in Kendall County suffer from slow or nonexistent internet service.

For-profit providers find that the cost of installing fiber optic lines in sparsely populated locations is not worth the return.

If the county were to provide the fiber optic highway covering long distances, it would become more financially feasible for a big service provider to install what is termed “last mile” service to customers’ homes.

That’s why the county is planning to build its own high-speed fiber optic broadband system and partner with an internet provider to make the final connections.

Such a system is estimated to cost about $16 million, Kendall County Administrator Scott Koeppel said, and would take three to five years to construct.

This has long been a goal of Koeppel, who came to Kendall County in 2015 as the information technology director.

With a degree in telecommunications management from Illinois State University’s School of Information Technology, Koeppel already had served as information technology director with the Bloomington Fire Department and Livingston County.

By 2017, Koeppel was making the transition to the county’s top administrative post and was working on his master’s degree in public administration at Northern Illinois University.

Kendall County Board members praise Koeppel for his management skills, but information technology clearly remains Koeppel’s passion.

“My first love is IT,” Koeppel said. “Technology touches everything.”

Last summer, the county commissioned a survey of residents, businesses and units of government to provide feedback on internet service in Kendall. The survey confirmed the areas of the county that had already been identified as underserved. What was something of a surprise was the level of support for the project, even in areas that already have good internet service.

“The biggest surprise was the overwhelming support from everyone,” Koeppel said. That’s good, because large businesses will not locate in areas with poor internet service, he said.

The internet also has become critical to farming, with the application of complex sciences and sophisticated technology now the keys to modern agriculture.

In order to get the broadband project started, a public-private organization is being created to oversee the work and aggressively seek state and federal grant money.

Applicants are being sought for the Connect Kendall County Commission. The county is seeking people who are knowledgeable of technology issues, Keoppel said.

Three of the commission members will be from units of local government, such as information technology directors or others who are knowledgeable in the field, while four members of the panel are to be from the private sector.

Heading up the commission as chairman is County Board member Zach Bachmann of Montgomery. Board member Ruben Rodriguez of Yorkville is serving as vice-chairman.

Bachmann is new to the board, having been elected and sworn in in December. He is a computer software developer who also has worked as a technical consultant.

A 2017 Oswego High School graduate, Bachmann earned a degree in computer science from Bradley University in Peoria in 2021. While in college, Bachmann worked two summers in Texas on a project team for NASA, developing an “augmented reality” heads-up display for astronaut helmets.

Like Koeppel, Bachmann has a passion for IT and wants underserved rural residents to benefit from internet access.

“That’s a net positive for any facet of life for anyone in Kendall County,” Bachmann said.

Once the commission is in place, it will be looking for a partnership with an internet service provider. This will be an important component to any grant application.

The county already is looking at grants offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act.

The idea, Koeppel and Bachman said, is for the county to fund half the project with grant money. The county would put up the other half with the intention of recouping its investment through fees paid by the “last mile” service provider as part of the deal.

Whether the fiber optic lines are to be buried or strung from existing utility poles has not been determined, Koeppel said.

However, the county has been mapping the project, creating 13 gigantic rings that would constitute the fiber optic highways from which the service providers would make the “last mile” connection to customers.

In addition the county has identified 100 “anchor” locations, such as schools, fire stations, township buildings and other public properties for creating an emergency communications system.