Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show the correct name of the contractor.
The installation of fiber optic internet in Bartholomew County is set to resume after a couple-month break caused by the bankruptcy of a previous contractor on the project.
Hoosier Fiber, recently rebranded as mStreet Fiber, the network utility provider, had enlisted Trueline Infrastructure to do the actual installation work, but the contractor went bankrupt in March, necessitating the search for a replacement.
The Bartholomew County commissioners said Monday that mStreetFiber had worked through Trueline’s surety provider to find the new contractor, Congruex, and that work is going to get started again soon.
“They’re in the process right now of evaluating the work that the previous contractor did, and they should be back building within the next couple weeks,” according to Commissioner Tony London, R-District 3.
London added that Congruex had done installation work for Hoosier Fiber in the Shelbyville area.
mStreet Fiber is providing the Gigabitnow service for the investment firm Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corp. The company is investing about $33 million into the necessary infrastructure for local countywide high-speed internet.
The county, for their part, is investing $4 million from their federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) allocation to make broadband available to at least 84% of all homes and businesses in the county. The 84% figure refers to the percentage of residents who have access to the service.
That $4 million is required to be spent before the end of 2026 or it disappears, however. mStreet Fiber CEO Dave Brodin said during an update to the commissioners in March that he thought the 84% requirement could be met before the 2026 deadline.
“The money is obviously important to both of us, part of what makes this project possible,” Brodin said on March 24. “They (the surety company) understand the timeline and the ramifications, and so they’re fully engaged as part of their planning process that that’s an important deadline for them to meet.”
Brodin also noted at the time that mStreet Fiber only paid money to Trueline for work that was already completed.
Before work stopped, 97 miles of fiber had been installed and 2,800 premises had the service available in the county only.
Before March’s update, the last given to commissioners by Brodin was in September. Between the September and March updates, 40 more miles of fiber had been installed and 300 more premises had access to the service.
As the work was paused, Brodin said most of the effort in the meantime had been placed into ensuring that work sites were safe and secure, and addressing any remaining homeowner issues.
Brodin said the best way for community members to communicate an issue is to contact their customer service line at 1-800-315-3509 or by email support@gigabitnow.com.
