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Award ExecutedIndianaAugust 14, 2026

Paulding Putnam electric co-op receives $13.1M Indiana BEAD contract for fiber build

Paulding Putnam celebrated its recently received BEAD contract worth $13,174,476 in federal funding, matched by $10.35 million in cooperative investment, to build fiber-to-the-home broadband across Allen, Adams, DeKalb, and Noble counties in northeast Indiana. The project covers 1,464 eligible locations, with construction expected to start spring 2027 and most locations connected by spring 2029.

Providers named: Paulding Putnam

Award amount: $13.2M

What this means for BEAD compliance

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative as the awarded BEAD subgrantee for the Indiana fiber build, along with subcontractors and vendors involved in the four-county deployment.

Execution of the $13.1M award activates full active_deployment obligations, including reimbursement-based disbursement tracking, quarterly financial and address reporting, Davis-Bacon prevailing wage compliance, and NEPA/environmental review completion before construction begins in spring 2027. The cooperative must also maintain a letter of credit and cost-per-passing documentation for the life of the project, and its buildout timeline (spring 2027 start, spring 2029 completion) will be measured against the state's infrastructure deployment deadline requirements. Failure to document environmental clearances, procurement compliance, and labor standards before construction start creates risk of clawback or milestone delay penalties.

Phase 3 · BEAD DeploymentIN-ENV-001IN-FIN-001IN-LABOR-001-2IN-FIN-001-6

Analysis by BeadComply Compliance Intelligence, grounded in the BEAD requirements registry.

Read the source: Indiana Broadband Office

Won a BEAD award in Indiana? See Indiana's program status and compliance requirements →

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