Letter from the CEO - Q1 2023

As we dive into the new year, it feels appropriate to pause and celebrate the collaborative efforts making our community stronger and more connected.  ChoiceLight is fortunate to work alongside many stakeholders who share a common goal to increase the availability and accessibility of quality internet connectivity across the South Bend – Elkhart region.  I joined ChoiceLight last March, succeeding Mary Jan Hedman, following her retirement after nearly 15 years of dedicated leadership to the organization. This has been an exciting time to enter the broadband industry, as 2022 was a record year for fiber connectivity across the country and started a cycle of unprecedented investment in broadband. For nearly two decades, ChoiceLight has played a critical role in building and managing infrastructure to drive innovation and economic development by enabling high-speed fiber-optic internet for businesses in the South Bend - Elkhart region.  We look forward to leveraging broadband as a competitive advantage for community and economic development efforts in 2023 and beyond.  

To advance these efforts, last year we partnered with several organizations who formed the South Bend Connectivity Coalition to ensure every resident has equitable access to the digital infrastructure, tools, and skills necessary to thrive in the modern world.  One of the Coalition’s key initiatives was implementing a private LTE network to connect South Bend Community School Corporation students in their homes.  ChoiceLight provided a $36,000 in-kind grant supporting the fiber-optic infrastructure component of the project to help close the digital divide and improve educational outcome for students. 

We hosted a series of Broadband Roundtable events to engage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other stakeholders in the region’s collaborative work to address the digital divide and inform regional applications for the federal Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program.  We also welcomed leadership from the Indiana Broadband Office (IBO), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to ensure our region’s participation in state efforts to secure federal funds through the BEAD Program

Another major milestone in regional collaboration and improved connectivity has been ChoiceLight’s engagement to manage Elkhart County’s dark fiber network.  This relationship further connects the fiber-optic infrastructure in St. Joseph, Marshall, and Elkhart counties and expands our open access dark fiber network to over 500 miles. 

2023 promises to be another exciting year for ChoiceLight and the broadband industry overall.   It has been inspirational to join the ChoiceLight team and work alongside our dedicated board, hard-working staff, and collaborative stakeholders.  We look forward to maintaining and expanding the South Bend – Elkhart region’s unique open-access fiber network and leveraging funding and partnerships that will accelerate the availability and accessibility of quality internet connectivity across the region.   

Sincerely,  

Regina Emberton 
CEO 
ChoiceLight, Inc. 

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