(KAIR)--A more than $650,000 Kansas grant is received by a local internet service provider, with those funds to support internet upgrades in selected rural areas of Doniphan County.

Everest, Kansas-based Rainbow Communications receives the $653,526 through the State's Broadband Acceleration Grant fund, making Rainbow one of 12 internet service providers awarded by Kansas through the latest round of statewide grants, totaling $10 million.

Rainbow Communications, in a release, says the company will invest $800,150 to complete the $1.4 million project that will connect 99 homes in rural Troy and Wathena that are currently considered underserved or unserved.

The Broadband Acceleration Grant, in its fourth year since initiated in 2020, is a 10-year, $85 million program designed to bring essential internet access to Kansas communities.

Angie Kreider, Rainbow's Director of Business Development, in the release, says expanding fiber services to the rural locations is more than just the internet connection, as it includes "empowering communities, fostering economic growth, and ensuring everyone has access to the opportunities of the digital age."