Whatever happened to KentuckyWired? $1.5B fiber project still courts controversy
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Not long ago, a fiber network meant to connect rural Kentucky to the web was the subject of intense scrutiny for wasting more than $1 billion.
That network, also known as KentuckyWired, is now built out. But questions about its efficacy linger as its public arm, the Kentucky Communications Network Authority, is facing lawsuits from its primary private partner and harsh scrutiny from the state legislature.
The high speed fiber optic cable network was first pitched in the 2010s as a way to bring internet all across the state, particularly to long-underresourced Eastern Kentucky. A bipartisan effort, KentuckyWired was touted by longtime GOP congressman Hal Rogers and finalized in the waning months of former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration.
It is what’s known as a middle-mile broadband network, meaning third-party providers still need to complete the “last mile” to connect customers to the web.
The state is set to spend about $1.5 billion on the project. The initial state general fund contribution pitched for the project was $30 million beyond what they were paying the private sector for internet.
Now, the legislative committee tasked with overseeing the state’s information technology wants to stop funding parts of the project.
A report from the Information Technology Oversight Committee published Nov. 12 recommends a pause on all bond funding for infrastructure upgrades and purchases and no more appropriations for any Kentucky Communications Network Authority infrastructure.
Committee co-chair Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, told the Herald-Leader that’s because the committee found that about $6.5 million per year was being spent on equipment that was already obsolete by the time it would be in the ground.
“We realized this equipment that they asked to purchase was not going to be a viable piece of equipment to install on our backbone. It’s at the end of service life,” Williams said.
Williams has also presented a bill changing the leadership structure of the Kentucky Communications Network Authority, axing the authority’s executive director and remake the board.
KCNA’s executive director, Doug Hendrix, indicated in a statement to the Herald-Leader that he thought the funding pause would be a bad idea.
“Failing to complete the first refresh of equipment by September 3, 2026, would relieve the private partner of any liability for not meeting its performance obligations under the contract, which is a key feature of a public-private partnership,” Hendrix wrote.
Hendrix also denied Williams’ claims that the equipment would be past its service life.
“The equipment being purchased for the refresh is the newest models available to replace existing equipment, which is reaching ‘end of service life,’” Hendrix wrote.
Williams offered no comment on litigation in an interview with the Herald-Leader, but he told the Kentucky Lantern in an earlier interview that Kentucky Communication Network Authority’s ongoing legal battle with Accelecom, the private wholesaler partnering with the state, played a role in the pause.
The legislator also mentioned the pause would allow Republican Auditor Allison Ball’s office to finish an ongoing audit of the authority’s finances.
The legal fight between Accelecom and KCNA began in response to the KentuckyWired Operations Company, the private operator of the network, canceling its contract with Accelecom. The wholesaler alleges KCNA has breached its contract in doing so.
The lawsuit is pending in Franklin Circuit Court in front of judge Phillip Shepherd.
The contract dispute has led to uncertainty over whether the places served by the network will continue to get internet access. Disconnection notices were served after KCNA’s cancellation of the contract with Accelecom in the spring of 2025. It cited stalled network expansion and limiting access to the fiber network as reasons for the termination.
There is no administrator currently slated to replace Accelecom.
During a November meeting of the Information Technology Oversight Committee, Michael McKerley, president of Zayo Education, which serves as the internet provider for all Kentucky Department of Education buildings — including all 171 public K-12 schools — offered something of a warning. Though his company claims to be “neutral” in Accelecom and KCNA’s dispute, he warned against quick change.
“We believe schools represent the largest portion of the user base currently connected to the Next Generation Kentucky Information Highway, or Kentucky Wired, and a sudden disruption could cause significant harm to educational continuity across the Commonwealth. Even if Zayo Education were allowed direct access to NGKIH fiber, replacing the last-mile connectivity and technology layer that Accelecom currently provides us would require both time and investment. Based on our analysis, the process to fully transition schools to a new network design could take up to 18 months,” McKerley said.
KCNA put out a request for proposals to replace Accelecom on Nov. 24, according to the Finance and Administration Cabinet. Bids are due Jan. 21.
Williams’ suggestion of a pause on bond funding for the authority is particularly relevant given that the legislature will gavel in for a budget session, which occurs every two years.
In 2022, the Senate wanted to withhold $40 million in yearly appropriations to KentuckyWired, but backed off the idea after Fitch Ratings reported that such a move could hurt the state’s credit rating.
Despite his criticisms of the network, Williams told the Herald-Leader that providing high-speed internet to rural communities is an undoubtedly good thing, and an asset that the state should take care of, Williams said.
“That is a great thing to have. Okay, so we’ve got an asset that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We spent a couple billion dollars putting it in. So I’m not going to say it’s not a good asset to have here, but they made the decision. I wasn’t around.”
Williams did not go so far as to say KentuckyWired was a bad idea.
“I’m an old IT guy, and I remember back in the ‘70s and ‘80s that we decided that government was not a good vehicle to do investment in telecommunications. When I’m investing water lines or power lines, that infrastructure lasts for 30, 40, 50 years. You don’t have anything running in technology that was put in 30 years ago, so it’s a tough thing for government to do,” Williams said.
