SCRTC Announces New Phone, Cable, Internet Options For Part of Edmonson County

A cable burying machine currently being used to install fiber cable for the KY Wired project.

KY Wired Project Continues Towards Brownsville

Darren Doyle, story and photo:
South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative, or SCRTC, has announced that their services are now available in a portion of Edmonson County.

General Manager Jeff Eaton said that telephone, cable, and internet services are now available for the southeastern portion of the county from Park City to the Edmonson/Warren line on Louisville Road (31W). 

The announcement comes as part of the KY Wired project, a state-funded program intended to guarantee better access to high speed internet to all counties in Kentucky. SCRTC is in charge of the contract to build the communication lines for the project.

"It's important to note that these services are only offered to those that live on the main road, which is 31W, Louisville Road," said Eaton. "Service is not available at this time for those who live off of the main road in that area," he added.

The company offers a range of products and services that can be purchased individually or in bundles, which can be found on the company's website: https://www.scrtc.com/

Services only available in area marked in green.

It is no secret that Edmonson County has been plagued with limited internet and cellular service for years, and while these new services from SCRTC are offered for only a portion of the county, Eaton says future expansion is possible for more of the county from SCRTC.

The most common complaint we hear in our office about needs in the county is the lack of choices for internet and cellular service. While SCRTC may or may not offer anything better than their competitors, it will give some county residents something they've wanted for ages: more options.

"We're amazed at how the southern part of the county has grown in a short time and we've heard from several residents that live down Chalybeate School Road (HWY 743). We're looking into maybe having a community forum to see how many more residents in that area would be interested in our services."

Eaton noted that it cost the company roughly $35,000 per mile to build the network for their services. They would obviously need a commitment from a large number of residents before investing in such a project. 

He said the KY Wired project is still ongoing and expected to be completed sometime in the first part of 2020. It' s a project that will allow more options for the county's communication services. ​CCC Communications, a sub-contractor of SCRTC, is currently in process of burying the underground cable for the project. Today they are working on Chalybeate Road (HWY 101) headed north towards Brownsville.