$689 million for broadband internet coming to Oregon's rural communities

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – Hundreds of millions of dollars coming to Oregon to fund broadband internet access.

On Monday, the ‘National Telecommunications and Information Administration,’ or NTIA, announcing $689 million will help expand internet access across the state.

The primary focus is to provide affordable, high-speed and reliable internet in rural communities.

It’s something Central Point-based internet company Hunter Communications said its vital in our region.

“Getting this funding enables the engineering, the feasibility studies, all the partnerships,” Hunter Communications CEO Michael Wynschenk said. “Whether their in Shady Cove, Applegate, fill in the areas there, to have that 1 gig service as an affordable price, a price for life so they’re not always getting price increases, is such a huge game changer.”

Wynschenk said the process could take over a year before installation begins.

However, he said he wants people to be vocal about their needs for internet, that way the appropriate amount of money gets funded for their area.

He believes Hunter Communications will be part of the bidding process once it gets underway.