Somerset

A $100,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission is enabling the Valley Oak Technology Complex to expand its telecommunications connectivity capacity and install the new equipment necessary to provide reliable broadband and Internet services to new businesses. The Center for Rural Development, whose Network Operations Center is a tenant in the Information Technology Center in the complex, will provide $100,000 in matching funds to complete the upgrades. The project is expected to create at least 20 new jobs and an estimated $200,000 in private investment, as new companies locate in the Enterprise Center. “High-speed connectivity powers the new economy,” said U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who announced the grant award. “For rural Kentucky, it bridges what used to be the great divide among rural, mountainous areas and the rest of the world.”