Apache County wins $9.7 million broadband grant for eight communities

Apache County’s fiber buildout has moved from promise to dirt work, a shift that could decide whether students can finish homework online, families can reach telehealth visits and small businesses can count on a steady connection. The county won $9.7 million from the Arizona Commerce Authority Broadband Development Grant to install fiber optic infrastructure in eight communities: Alpine, Concho, Eagar, Greer, Nutrioso, Springerville, St. Johns and Vernon.

The county pitched the project as a response to a real gap in rural life. Its broadband materials say Apache County’s poverty rate is more than three times the national average, and county officials tied the grant to the daily needs of families, schools and employers spread across a large, remote geography. Joy Whiting, who spearheaded the application after taking office in early 2021, thanked the Apache County Board of Supervisors, state lawmakers, the Arizona Commerce Authority, Commnet, Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power for backing the effort.

SRP and TEP each committed $300,000 in matching funds, and the utilities said the project fits a broader economic transition away from coal in northeastern Arizona. A funded economic study projected that expanding broadband in Apache County would generate about 1,060 new jobs over the next decade, add $185.5 million in annual economic output, produce $86.8 million in labor income and generate $3.2 million in state and local tax revenue.

Construction has already begun. Ethos Broadband says equipment is housed in Round Valley, crews are connecting families and businesses with fiber-to-the-home service, and progress has been significant in St. Johns and Round Valley. Ethos says crews are next slated to move into Concho and Vernon. A Town of Eagar notice in November 2024 said work was underway in Springerville and would ramp up in St. Johns after Thanksgiving.

Project materials say the grant is intended to connect more than 3,000 homes and businesses in the eight communities, while another state-facing summary puts the reach at more than 11,000 residents and about 4,100 homes. The Arizona Broadband Development Grant program is meant to expand service in unserved and underserved areas for homes, businesses, public safety agencies, medical facilities, schools and libraries.

Apache County’s homepage now describes broadband as one of several active infrastructure efforts as the county says permanent jobs and support services are expanding. For residents still outside the buildout path, the promise is straightforward: fewer dead zones, stronger school connections and better access to the tools rural life now depends on.