The central communications tower can be seen while entering the Grayhorse Village when driving from the west. Courtesy Photo/Danny Sadler
Broadband services in the Grayhorse community are projected to begin in early 2022.
According to an Osage LLC press release, the construction of three new 190-foot communications towers and a 30-mile fiber optic link from Fairfax to Grayhorse is approaching completion. The first phase, part of a larger vision to deploy broadband services throughout Osage County, will provide service to the Grayhorse Village located about five miles east of Fairfax.
All residents will have access to broadband services ranging from 25 Mbps to 1 Gbps. The difference is 25 Mbps or 25 Megabits per second, which is good for about two people and up to five devices, and you can stream Netflix on a 4K Ultra HD TV. The 1 Gbps, or 1 gigabit per second, is good for up to 100 people with devices.
The community center and internet room, which is located next to the Grayhorse Chapel, were on schedule to be operational in time to meet the November grant deadline. It will serve as a digital library where all tribal and non-tribal residents may use a computer equipped with broadband service free of charge.
The Bowring portion of the project is also advancing toward the extended grant deadline of Dec. 22.
The broadband project is funded through a $3 million Community Connect Grant from the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service and $450,000 of Osage Nation funds.
By
Jessica Brent
Original Publish Date: 2021-12-01 00:00:00
