IN APPALACHIA, A PUBLIC BROADBAND PROJECT HITS SNAGS

Kentucky’s plan to build one of the country’s largest publicly owned broadband networks was touted as a cornerstone of the effort to save the Appalachian economy by bringing high-speed internet to some of the poorest counties in America.

It was supposed to take a year to finish, but three years later only a fraction of the 3,000 mile network of fiber optic cables known as Kentucky Wired has been built. Construction has been plagued by delays, forcing the state to pay $7 million in penalties