Kentucky Middle-Mile Network Could Go Dark, Hurting Thousands
Kentucky terminated its contract with the network's administrator, and has yet to find a new one.
Jake Neenan
WASHINGTON, May 8, 2025 – Earlier this year, Kentucky canceled its contract with the administrator of its statewide middle-mile network, known as KentuckyWired. If the state doesn’t find a replacement, rural broadband providers and their customers could face disconnections in the next few months.
The Kentucky Communications Network Authority, which oversees the 3,300-mile network, alleges the administrator breached its contract with the state and is litigating the dispute in court. The administrator, OpenFiber, does business as Accelecom.
“OpenFiber blocked KCNA from exercising its contractual right to audit OpenFiber’s records to confirm the veracity of its reports,” Doug Hendrix, KCNA’s executive director, said in an email.
KCNA also alleges Accelecom was selling last mile service and not operating the network on an open-access basis, both violations of the deal.
As part of the court proceedings, KCNA sent a disconnect notice to Accelecom from April 8-10 notifying them that Accelecom’s circuits would ultimately be taken offline. The letter appeared to say that would happen within 30 days, but providers and small-ISP industry group WISPA said they’ve been told the disconnection date would be within two or three months from the date of the letter.
Hendrix confirmed at a KCNA board meeting Thursday that the letter “was not a 30-day clock. It was intended as an initial notice.”
KCNA’s website says it “will not disconnect Accelecom from the KentuckyWired network without providing additional notice to Accelecom’s customers.”
Even with the extra time, Steven Schwerbel, WISPA’s director of state advocacy, said some of the group’s members simply have no other option for connectivity if Accelecom is turned off.
Hendrix said that “next steps are under consideration.” The state has not issued a formal request for a replacement administrator.
“For a lot of people, this is kind of a major backbone that serves as the only connection point,” Schwerbel said. “If that goes offline, there’s no backup for them. There’s nobody else to even go ask ‘Hey, could I pay you enough to get on your middle-mile network so I can keep service to this industrial park?’”
Schwerbel and John Gill, a WISPA member that connects to KentuckyWired, said they were told the state is conducting an audit of which specific circuits will need disconnecting, a step which will need to be completed before anyone is taken offline.
Gill said he was in the process of signing a contract with a major ISP to use its network as a backup for when Accelecom goes dark, preventing him from going offline. But that provider would charge him more than double the monthly price for the same capacity, which he said could lead to price increases for his 800 subscribers.
“I’m one of the lucky ones that has a circuit accessible,” Gill said. “But there’s friends of mine in Frankfurt and in Hodginsville and stuff like that, and they have no other option. The buildout time is nine-plus months.”
Hendrix said public entities like government buildings, local health departments, and airports could connect directly to the KentuckyWired network through KCNA.
Brad Kilbey, Accelecom’s CEO, said in a statement that the company would continue defending itself in court.
“We intend to prove that KCNA has repeatedly breached its contract with Accelecom, culminating in its unilateral decision to terminate the parties’ agreement and disconnect the customers it was created to serve,” he said. “Any suggestion that the court has resolved the parties’ disputes in KCNA’s favor – or that KCNA has conducted its relationship with Accelecom in good faith – is categorically false.”
The case is being litigated in the Franklin County Circuit Court, which has limited case information available online. The court clerk’s office did not respond to phone calls.
