White River Connect selects contractor for $260M project

Construction has commenced on an estimated $260 million, five-year high-speed internet buildout after White River Connect, a subsidiary of Branson-based White River Valley Electric Cooperative Inc., hired the project’s general contractor earlier this month.

With the assistance of consulting and design partner National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, White River Connect selected Hendersonville, Tennessee-based ITG Communications LLC for the project, which involves building a 4,200-mile fiber network, according to a news release. ITG was selected from among seven bids following a nationwide search.

“ITG Communications has a proven track record for building robust fiber networks throughout our country,” White River Connect CEO Beau Jackson said in the release. “Among other factors, their reputation for delivering high-quality work and their experience in successfully completing projects of this scale is why ITG was our choice. We look forward to partnering with ITG Communications as we work to build a world-class fiber network for the communities we serve.”

Through its subsidiary, White River Valley Electric Cooperative plans to conduct seven connection projects in its rural service territory of Christian, Douglas, Ozark, Stone and Taney counties.

The fiber-optic build’s first phase of customers is expected to be able to access high-speed connections in early 2024. The co-op intends to offer subscribers speeds above 1 gigabit for data uploads and downloads to meet future bandwidth demand, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

The cooperative was awarded nearly $47.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The award was part of $261 million the DED announced in January through the ARPA Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, according to past reporting. Additionally, community support also was received from Ozark, Stone and Taney counties, which collectively committed nearly $9 million of county ARPA funding toward the broadband buildout.

White River Connect is pursuing other grant funding options to contribute to the project costs, according to officials.