Some remote areas of the county will be getting broadband internet soon. We heard about Saline County’s nearly $3 million grant last week, and now we know where it will be applied.
The Arkansas Department of Commerce awarded Saline county $2,950,000 from its Arkansas Rural Connect (ARC) broadband grant program to serve several communities in Southern and Western Saline County with high-speed internet access.
The goal of the ARC program is to provide high-speed broadband to rural communities, and the county will be working in partnership with Aristotle Unified Communications to deploy broadband to the unincorporated communities of Shaw, Paron, and Owensville, the cities of Traskwood and Lonsdale, and the unserved areas in between.
Saline County Judge Jeff Arey, who filed the application on behalf of the county, said, “When we saw the opportunity to bring much-needed broadband service to underserved areas of Saline county, we knew we had to apply. I’m pleased to announce that this grant will bring broadband internet access to nearly 3,500 unserved and underserved households in the County.”
“Aristotle has offered broadband service in Eastern Saline County for many years, and we are looking forward to expanding that coverage,” stated Elizabeth Bowles, CEO of Aristotle Unified Communications. “In the era of Covid-19, the need for high-speed internet access has never been greater, and this project provides an excellent start towards the goal of providing broadband access throughout Saline County.”
Founded in 2010, Aristotle Unified Communications is a broadband internet service provider headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Aristotle is committed to bringing broadband to unserved, underserved, and rural communities, particularly in the Arkansas Delta.