A rural electric cooperative and an internet service provider near Nashville have taken advantage of a new state law to expand broadband access in rural Tennessee, Craig Settles reports for The Daily Yonder. The deal between Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corp. and United Communications, announced last month, is the state's first partnership between a co-op and a private company to offer broadband. A state law pushed by telecommunications firms has blocked cities in the state from extending broadband service outside their city limits or utility service areas.
MTEMC, which buys electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, has 225,000 business and residential members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties. Instead of building out its own broadband network, as co-ops in some other states have, it bought a controlling interest in United. That way the co-op has more control over broadband quality, pricing and reliability, and may gain access to state and federal grants, Settles reports.
The partnership is already helping rural customers, including the Peytonsville Volunteer Fire Department in Williamson County. "Gigabit broadband means the volunteer force will have significant advantages," Settles reports. "Reports are created and processed faster and more accurately. In a world in which seconds mean the difference between life and death, the web-based dispatch application means firefighters and EMTs are on the trucks faster and with more accurate data."
UPDATE: Former Gov. Phil Bredesen, Democratic nominee for U.S. senator, writes in a column for the Nashville Tennessean that TVA should become a provider of rural broadband. "They have long-standing relationships with local electric distribution utilities and co-ops that can be an integral part of the effort," Bredesen notes. He writes that in Humphreys and Hickman counties, just west of well-to-do Williamson, almost 60 percent and over 40 percent of residents, respectively, "are without broadband internet. This affects the quality of life and the ability to attract and retain jobs in these counties. . . . In today’s world, the internet is quickly becoming as vital as telephones, or electric power, or roads, or water and sewer services — a fifth utility."
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| Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corp. service area |
The partnership is already helping rural customers, including the Peytonsville Volunteer Fire Department in Williamson County. "Gigabit broadband means the volunteer force will have significant advantages," Settles reports. "Reports are created and processed faster and more accurately. In a world in which seconds mean the difference between life and death, the web-based dispatch application means firefighters and EMTs are on the trucks faster and with more accurate data."
UPDATE: Former Gov. Phil Bredesen, Democratic nominee for U.S. senator, writes in a column for the Nashville Tennessean that TVA should become a provider of rural broadband. "They have long-standing relationships with local electric distribution utilities and co-ops that can be an integral part of the effort," Bredesen notes. He writes that in Humphreys and Hickman counties, just west of well-to-do Williamson, almost 60 percent and over 40 percent of residents, respectively, "are without broadband internet. This affects the quality of life and the ability to attract and retain jobs in these counties. . . . In today’s world, the internet is quickly becoming as vital as telephones, or electric power, or roads, or water and sewer services — a fifth utility."
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