Elkhart-based Surf Internet received $1.17 million to expand broadband service in rural Indiana.
Surf Internet received the funding during Round 13 of the Indiana Connectivity Program. The program aims to expand reliable high-speed broadband access to rural and underserved areas.
The grant, combined with $5.8 million in private investment by Surf Internet, will enable fiber-optic expansion to 245 grant-identified addresses—and additional adjacent homes and businesses—across Indiana.
The 245 addresses span Northern Indiana. St. Joseph, Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall, and 12 other northern and rural counties will benefit.
“Grants like the ICP make it possible for us to reach people who have waited far too long for fast, reliable internet,” said Gene Crusie, Surf Internet CEO, in a press release. “This is about more than infrastructure—it’s about ensuring families, farms and small businesses can fully participate in today’s connected world.”
Surf Internet will extend service beyond the grant-funded addresses to reach approximately 2,500 adjacent homes and businesses.
“Public-private partnerships like ICP are a force multiplier,” Steve Carender, Surf Internet director of special funding, said. “By aligning state dollars with our own investment, we can scale impact quickly—bringing broadband to entire corridors of unserved areas, not just the individual homes identified in the grant.”
Surf Internet will work with residents throughout the buildout process. Surf Internet will host public meetings, send targeted mailers and provide direct outreach. Residents at grant-funded addresses will receive next steps, including project timelines, how to connect when service becomes available and instructions for completing state-required consent forms.
Surf Internet is a fiber-optic internet company that serves the Great Lakes region of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. The company aims to deliver high-speed, reliable internet to homes and businesses in underserved, rural communities. Surf Internet has offices in Elkhart and La Porte, Indiana; Byron Center and Fowlerville, Michigan; and Coal City, Naperville and Rock Falls, Illinois.
