Delta Communications plans to deploy a high-speed fiber middle mile network across a 23-county region of southern Illinois to address the lack of adequate broadband access for community anchor institutions in many of the region’s rural, economically distressed communities. The project plans to double Delta’s network size by constructing 740 new miles of fiber in the proposed service area. The project will directly connect 232 community anchor institutions with speeds between 10 Mbps and 1 Gbps, including 111 K-12 public schools, 28 public safety entities, 23 libraries, nine community colleges, Southern Illinois University, and 60 healthcare facilities. The network plans to offer points of interconnection for last-mile providers in all 31 communities in the proposed service area.