The agency overseeing state-owned fiber optic network KentuckyWired and telecom firm Accelecom have been at odds over underutilization of the state-backed network — leading to a protracted legal battle.
In that environment, state lawmakers are weighing a freeze on some funding for infrastructure upgrades.
"We want to preserve our options and preserve all the money possible for the other end of the lawsuit," state Sen. Gex Williams told a state technology panel. "Nobody has yet shown me in the contract where these upgrades or these purchases are required. Maybe on the other end of the lawsuit, we'll know something."
The potential halt in funding is only the latest in a long string of complications for the Kentucky effort to expand Internet access across the state.
KNCA and Accelecom
The ongoing dispute — which left thousands of Kentuckians in limbo regarding their internet connections — has pit the Kentucky Communications Network Authority, or KCNA, against Accelecom, also called Open Fiber Kentucky.
The question: Who is to blame for underutilization of the state-backed network?
KCNA is pointing the finger at Accelecom, arguing it's fallen short on its task of selling the system to potential clients and growing network use.
The authority's executive director, Doug Hendrix, told lawmakers it chose to cut ties with Accelecom out of concern for public investment in the system.
"The Kentucky Wired Network is taxpayer-owned. And it's our obligation to make sure that our contractors meet their obligations to us. And if we didn't, you would probably pull us to this table and ask me why we're not," he said.
Accelecom CEO Brad Kilbey strongly denied the case laid out by KCNA, instead saying it's the state agency that has botched the KentuckyWired project and that his company has more than met the demands set out in the original deal.
"Over time, we've invested north of $125 million in private capital in Kentucky. We have been an excellent employer over that time. We have connected north of 200 customers across Kentucky. We provide essential telecommunication services to students... healthcare systems, universities, and government entities," he said in July.
With termination of the contract and a protracted legal battle, affected customers were told to seek alternatives, though KCNA has said service has not been cut off at the time.