LENORA, Kan., January 24, 2023 – On Wednesday, January 18, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced that Nex-Tech was awarded $10,764,700 out of the $44.5 million Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Program.

The CPF program provides funding for the expansion of broadband. Investment in the infrastructure will bring much-needed access to high-speed, reliable Internet to homes, businesses, healthcare facilities, and other public institutions in rural and underserved areas for the first time. The funds from the CPF will allow Nex-Tech, a Lenora-based technology company, to build the necessary infrastructure required to reach a 99% unserved area of Saline County and a 93% unserved area of Decatur County.

Nex-Tech was awarded $2,293,000 for Saline County, with Nex-Tech funding an additional $2,293,000, bringing the total project cost to $4,586,000. Nex-Tech plans to bring broadband services to a residential neighborhood north of Salina and an area north and south of I-70 in the Hedville area. In Decatur County, Nex-Tech will fund an additional $941,300 to the awarded $8,471,700, bringing the total project to $9,413,000 to bring broadband services to the rural areas of Oberlin.

“We are extremely pleased to have received this grant funding to expand and improve Internet connectivity to customers in Saline and Decatur counties,” stated Jimmy Todd, CEO and General Manager of Nex-Tech.  “We want to thank the many individuals, businesses, and community for their support for these projects. Without their help and participation on calls with the Office of Broadband Development, I don’t think we would have been as successful” continued Todd.

“The Saline County Commission has made a conscious effort to invest in our community’s infrastructure,” said Commission Chairman Robert Vidricksen. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with other entities, such as Nex-Tech, in upgrading needed services including broadband. It is exciting that the State has now recognized this need as well.” Added Fifth District County Commissioner Joe Hay, Jr., “Robust broadband infrastructure is a real need in northern and western Saline County, both for our residents and institutions like the Rolling Hills Zoo. I am happy the State knows that broadband is needed not just in our most rural communities, but in areas close to cities such as Salina as well. We look forward to seeing this project completed.”

Nora Urban, Decatur County Clerk, shared, “Decatur County is excited about the opportunity to bring fiber and high-speed internet to the rural areas surrounding Oberlin in Decatur County. We look forward to a partnership with Nex-Tech and the opportunity that this critical infrastructure can bring to our student population, businesses, or rural areas of our community.”

The targeted counties have as few as five locations per square mile, which until now has prevented providers from investing the resources needed to deliver a quality broadband option. The CPF Grant Program provides the funding needed to implement high-speed broadband in these areas of the state.

About Nex-Tech

Nex-Tech connects thousands of people and businesses through a robust broadband network. Nex-Tech’s powerful fiber-to-the-premise technology delivers leading-edge enterprise solutions to clients nationwide including cloud services, servers, security, phone systems, hosted PBX, managed IT, advertising solutions, and network operations monitoring. Nex-Tech employees are customer-focused on providing the most effective technology solutions with unsurpassed user- friendly support. Headquartered in Lenora, Kansas, Nex-Tech has been delivering exceptional service for 70 years.