In the fall of 2018, northern district Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley held at meeting at the Lowndes County courthouse to rally support for legislation that would permit the state’s electric co-ops to provide broadband internet service to its customers.
Five people showed up, just one from 4-County Electric Power Association, which at the time served 38,000 customers, the bulk of them in the Golden Triangle.
At that point, and for quite some time afterward, 4-County’s attitude toward broadband fell somewhere along the continuum of indifference to skepticism to borderline hostility.
Even after Presley succeeded in pushing through the legislation in 2019, 4-County seemed largely noncommittal.
“I had to drag ’em kicking and screaming,” Presley recalls. “But the important thing is they got there. I’ll give them all the credit in the world. They’ve really gotten on board with this.”
For 4-County the reluctance to jump into what is, for the company, an entirely different field was based on a fair amount of fiduciary restraint given the estimates that it would cost somewhere between $80 million to $90 million to run the fiber optic cable needed to provide broadband service to its customers.
However you choose to describe 4-County’s initial attitude, there’s little question now of the company’s commitment to providing broadband. With a $35 million grant from the federal Rural Broadband Development fund and another $6 million in funding from the state’s share of COVID-19 relief funds set aside for broadband expansion, many of the company’s concerns of the costs have been mitigated.
The truth is, 4-County, our state and our nation could not afford to delay expanding broadband service much longer. Much as electric power emerged as an essential service in our nation more than 100 years ago at a time when rural communities remained off the grid, broadband service is an absolute necessity today.
Simply stated, we cannot function without broadband and those without access are left behind in everything from jobs to education to health care. It seems almost every necessity is, in one way or another dependent on high-speed internet access.
Long before the idea of using co-ops to fill in the broadband gaps was popular, Presley saw its importance in historical context.
In his research Presley said that when the first electric co-ops were being formed, there was resistance. Some people argued it was too expensive. Others argued electricity wasn’t needed.
Today, those are absurd ideas.
A hundred year from now, the idea that broadband was “too expensive” or “unnecessary” will be considered equally absurd.
We are grateful that 4-County’s attitude on providing its customers broadband service has evolved from cautious skepticism to aggressive, enthusiastic support.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
