An internet service company plans to bring a fiber optic network to a vast swath of eastern Pinal County, a move that could help chip away at digital inequities and revitalize Arizona’s copper corridor.The first phase of the project by telecommunications company WeCom will connect community hubs in Superior. Its public library, Police Department and Fire Department are among those slated for fiber optic hookups in the coming months. WeCom CEO Paul Fleming said the pilot will cost $350,000, which will be entirely fronted by his company.Superior, located in the northeastern tip of the county, is home to roughly 2,500 people and is a gateway to the copper corridor. Officials hope to gain access to state money next year that could help fund expansion of the network to homes and businesses in the town and other eastern Pinal County municipalities, including Kearny, Winkelman and Mammoth.It could be a huge step toward increased connectivity in the area, which has a rich history of mining but has long struggled with a dwindling population and a lack of economic opportunities.It could also serve as a launch point for expanding broadband to Gila County and other nearby areas in the years to come. WeCom is already building fiber optic networks in other rural areas of the state, including a $54 million project that will connect more than 30,000 Arizonans across Mohave County, La Paz County and the Hualapai Reservation.”We want to be a shining star for what rural communities in Arizona can do,” said Superior Mayor Mila Besich.Officials have long sought to diversify local economies by highlighting municipalities’ tourism and recreation potential. Superior, for instance, was awarded a state tourism grant for its annual Mining Festival and Burro Run in 2021 and put a portion of its federal COVID-19 recovery dollars into a tourism promotion program.But local officials say the area cannot realize its full potential without connectivity. Meanwhile, residents can’t access telehealth, online postsecondary courses and other crucial online services.”The people who choose to live here, they have every right to have the same services as people in metropolitan areas,” said Pinal County Supervisor Jeff Serdy, who represents Superior and the northern half of the cop …
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