Collaboration will accelerate Elkhart County's fiber network growth
Regional not-for-profit to manage business operations while
County retains ownership
Click here to download high-resolution photos from today's announcement.
ELKHART COUNTY, Indiana (February 15, 2023) – In a joint announcement today, Chief Executive Officer of ChoiceLight, Inc., Regina Emberton, and Elkhart County Commissioners announced a collaboration that will accelerate the County's return on investment in its open-access fiber optic network.
Last November, Elkhart County Commissioners passed a license and operation agreement with ChoiceLight. The agreement gives ChoiceLight, a not-for-profit professional fiber network, authorization to manage the County's 189-mile fiber network. Elkhart County's network currently stretches from South Bend to Middlebury and from Elkhart to Goshen. The agreement took effect on January 1, 2023.
"Elkhart County citizens remain the owners of our fiber network," said Brad Rogers, President of the Elkhart County Commissioners. "ChoiceLight will manage the day-to-day business and operations on our behalf. Leveraging ChoiceLight's experience and expertise allows us to accelerate the return on our fiber investment, improve efficiencies and connect more Elkhart County businesses."
For nearly two decades, ChoiceLight has built and managed fiber infrastructure in St. Joseph and Marshall Counties, increasing the availability of robust internet connectivity and broadband access for regional businesses. With the addition of Elkhart County's fiber network, ChoiceLight's open-access network brings regional perspective to managing over 500 miles of dark fiber.
"We view the region as a series of interconnected communities," added Regina Emberton, Chief Executive Officer for ChoiceLight. "Bringing Elkhart County's fiber into the collaborative operation of a regionally managed network represents a significant milestone in connectivity for this part of Indiana. "We appreciate the confidence the County has in ChoiceLight and look forward to providing Elkhart County businesses with a competitive advantage that will impact economic development for decades to come."
"Fiber-optic connectivity is a crucial piece of infrastructure that industries take into account when making decisions on where to locate," added Chris Stager, President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. "Elkhart County and the region as a whole are leveraging broadband assets so that our legacy companies and emerging industries can easily adopt new technologies and embrace the digital transformation needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Collaboration with ChoiceLight makes sense because they've been managing fiber for a long time. They're not-for-profit. And they do an excellent job."
Elkhart County businesses interested in learning more about ChoiceLight can contact Jamie Brazeau at 574-968-5381 or jbrazeau@choicelight.org.
