The Fayette County hamlet of Jimtown is the first of multiple rural communities to be outfitted with broadband Internet as part of a push from the Lexington Fayette-County Urban Government.
The joint government awarded the expansion bid to Spectrum in 2022. The Internet provider says it expects to have service installed by the end of the month. The expansion also includes sections of the counties surrounding Lexington.
Ben U’Sellis, Spectrum’s Director of Government Affairs, says the provider’s goal is to outfit rural homes with the same service as those living in the city.
“Our goal is to connect every single one of those homes and have them treated the same way as everyone else’s on our network, same access to the same speeds and services, video service, phone service, mobile and especially that high speed broadband,” U’Sellis said.
City Mayor Linda Gorton called the expansion a huge step forward for the county’s rural districts.
“Broadband is an essential tool for all of us, no matter where we live, right?” Gorton said. “It includes farms that are businesses. It includes families in the rural area. It includes churches in the rural area.”