Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative (PPEC) says it has received $13.2 million in federal broadband grant support to help fund a major fiber-to-the-home expansion to rural unserved segments of northeast Indiana.

According to a cooperative announcement, the co-op will receive $13.2 million in BEAD (Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment) federal grant funding from the Indiana Broadband Office, matched by $10.3 million in cooperative investment, to bring affordable fiber to thousands of unserved residents in Allen, Adams, DeKalb and Noble counties.

PPEC’s fiber network passes more than 18,600 locations in Ohio and Indiana, with the cooperative having formally launched its major expansion project last year.

"This investment will make a lasting difference for the communities we serve," PPEC CEO Randy Price said of the grant award. "Reliable, high-speed internet has become a necessity for education, healthcare, agriculture, business, and everyday life. Many of our members have waited far too long for access to dependable broadband. With support from the BEAD program, we're able to accelerate fiber deployment and deliver a long-term solution that will benefit our members and strengthen our communities well into the future.”

In deployed fiber markets, the cooperative offers symmetrical 250 megabit per second (Mbps) fiber for $60 a month; symmetrical 500 Mbps fiber for $80 a month; and symmetrical 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) fiber for $120 a month, with a variety of additional phone, Wi-Fi, and battery-backup add-on options.