Officials at 4-County Electric Power Association announced the company will provide free short-term internet access for visitors to the cooperative’s central office.

The company will allow anyone needing internet access for school, work or other uses to access its hotspot from its parking lot at 5265 South Frontage Road, which is located just east of the Highway 793 (airport) exit.

The decision comes after 4-County announced its plans to provide broad-band service to its 48,000-plus customers in September.

“Since we made the decision to provide broadband to our members, I’ve heard from so many thankful people,” 4-County CEO Brian Clark said in a press release issued Monday. “We are very excited about the progress we’ve made, but we know that there are many folks out there who still don’t have access to fast, reliable internet. That’s why we’ve set up this free hotspot.”

Clark said 4-County hopes to extend the free access to other areas as well.

“We’ll have access at our Starkville office and we’ve already identified locations in the areas where we are putting up fiber. We hope they will help members who need immediate access to broadband and who can’t get FASTnet service yet,” Clark said.

4-County’s FASTnet internet service is rolling out with three pilot projects in western Clay, northeastern Choctaw and northern Noxubee counties, and the co-op hopes to build out to the rest of the membership when those projects are completed.

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