Indiana electric co-op wins $13.2M BEAD grant for fiber across four counties

Another electric cooperative is turning its poles into a fiber network. Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative (PPEC) says it has received $13.2 million in BEAD grant funding from the Indiana Broadband Office, matched by $10.3 million in cooperative investment, to build fiber-to-the-home across rural unserved pockets of northeast Indiana, Community Networks reports.

The $23.5 million combined project will bring fiber to thousands of unserved residents in Allen, Adams, DeKalb and Noble counties — the Indiana side of a co-op whose network already passes more than 18,600 locations across Ohio and Indiana. It’s part of a wave of BEAD deployments being announced — and with a second BEAD round now open for leftover billions, more are on the way.

“This investment will make a lasting difference for the communities we serve,” PPEC CEO Randy Price said of the 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.”

The co-op playbook, again

PPEC is one of hundreds of US electric cooperatives that have pivoted from rural electrification into retail fiber broadband — often at prices that undercut the incumbent telecoms. Minnesota’s Paul Bunyan co-op is nearing completion on its own 1,800-location fibre build. In its deployed fiber markets, the co-op sells symmetrical 250 Mbps for $60 a month, 500 Mbps for $80, and 1 Gbps for $120, with phone, Wi-Fi and battery-backup add-ons.

“When reliable broadband was out of reach for many rural Hoosiers, Indiana’s electric cooperatives took action,” said John Cassady, CEO of Indiana Electric Cooperatives. “Our cooperatives have invested in expanding high-speed internet service to rural homes, farms, schools, and businesses because these communities deserve the same opportunities as everyone else.”

Timeline — and what it means for Hoosiers

Construction in Indiana is expected to begin in spring 2027, starting with 1,464 eligible Indiana service locations, with all targeted Indiana locations connected to fiber by spring 2029. That’s a realistic co-op build pace, but it also means residents in these counties face another two winters of waiting before the first splices are lit.

If you live in Allen, Adams, DeKalb or Noble counties and your address shows as unserved on the state’s maps, the Indiana Broadband Office’s award list is now the document that confirms PPEC is your designated builder — and the co-op’s sign-up page is the place to register interest so you’re in the queue when construction reaches your road. Elsewhere, West Virginia’s $100M+ Armstrong build shows how states are layering BEAD with other funding programmes.