Broadband internet will be available to more Southern Illinoisans as part of the federal ReConnect program.
US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Congressmen Mike Bost and John Shimkus held a virtual press conference to announce the 46.6 million dollars allocated to Southern Illinois.
Shimkus praised the companies receiving funding, both of which are non-profit co-ops.
“We know in rural America how coops provide the services that the big folks don’t want to provide,” Shimkus said..
Hamilton County Telephone Co-op and Flat Rock Telephone Co- op will receive funds to deliver high-speed internet access to more than 21,000 people in six Illinois counties.
