Update: Accelecom has given a response through email. We have bolded the statement below:
Designed to provide high-speed internet wherever throughout the Commonwealth, especially in underprivileged rural communities, KentuckyWired was meant to be Often referred to as the “middle mile,” the 3,200-mile fiber optic network links major buildings like government offices, colleges, and universities to the worldwide internet. Then, Internet service providers (ISPs) link to KentuckyWired to provide homes and businesses the “last mile” of service.
Now, though, the future of that system is under doubt.
The state body running the network, Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA), just declared it is ending its contract with Accelecom, the private business hired to run KentuckyWired. KCNA claims Accelecom broke terms of their contract. In response, Accelecom sent letters to consumers warning that their internet service could be disconnected before the end of the month.
With many local governments, colleges, and businesses caught in the middle, the impact from the contract conflict might be felt statewide.
“If you go in and touch the fiber, you are touching a state-owned asset,” John Gill, an internet provider who relies on KentuckyWired, told WDRB.
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“We are a last-mile provider,” Gill told WDRB. “You enjoy the internet on the last foot—whether that’s through a wireless router or plugging in your laptop or TV.”
Courthouses, governmental offices, and schools are among the institutions that depend on the KentuckyWired backbone. Gill noted that while the state and Accelecom are pointing fingers, it’s regular Kentuckians who could lose crucial access.
“You can’t do this—it’s written into law,” Gill told WDRB. “We’re sorry you had problems with Accelecom, but to us, they’re just a salesman. Salesmen come and go. Get us another one and we’ll be happy to work with them.”
Kentucky Wired originated in 2013 when state agencies and the SOAR (Shaping Our Appalachian Region) project realized better internet was needed to promote education and economic growth. Kentucky at the time rated 47th overall in broadband speeds and access, which disadvantages rural communities.
To solve that, Kentucky launched KCNA in 2015 and entered a 30-year public-private partnership with a consortium led by Macquarie Capital. The deal tasked the consortium with designing, developing, funding, running, and maintaining the network in exchange for availability fees funded by current internet service budgets. The arrangement includes long-term maintenance, equipment updates in years 11 and 21, and revenue sharing from leasing access to the network.
Construction of the network, projected at $324.4 million with an additional $88 million added for pole access and other delays, had considerable hurdles from the start. Issues with getting pole attachment agreements and easements to place cables on private land delayed the project by more than two years. As of early 2018, KCNA had obtained agreements for around 90% of essential pole access, including roughly 70 utility firms across the state.
Despite these early challenges, KentuckyWired was positioned as a generational investment aimed to expand connectivity, improve cell phone coverage, and generate revenue by wholesaling access to ISPs and telecom corporations.
On Thursday, May 1, Accelecom reached out to LEO Weekly via email to provide a statement regarding our story:
“We intend to prove that KCNA has repeatedly breached its contract with Accelecom, culminating in its unilateral decision to terminate the parties’ agreement and disconnect the customers it was created to serve,” said Accelecom CEO Brad Kilbey. “Those customers include more than 240 healthcare clinics and hospitals, 634,000 K-12 students, 44 internet service providers that serve tens of thousands of residents—many in rural areas—and hundreds of businesses. Any suggestion that the court has resolved the parties’ disputes in KCNA’s favor—or that KCNA has conducted its relationship with Accelecom in good faith—is categorically false.”
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This article appears in Apr 25 – May 8, 2025.