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Thursday, January 10, 2019

Increasing numbers of rural telephone and electric cooperatives provide affordable, reliable broadband

Rural areas are desperate for affordable, reliable broadband access, but many nationwide for-profit internet service providers have said they can only make it happen with state or federal subsidies. Some rural communities "are following the example of farmers who wanted electricity in the 1930s and joined forces to form cooperatives to electrify rural America. This time, they have the benefit of established electric and telephone cooperatives that already deliver services and have infrastructure in place," Lisa Gonzales reports for Broadband Communities Magazine.

One example is Taylor Electric Cooperative Lights near Abilene, Texas. It began a four-phase plan in December 2017 to build out fiber connections to local residences, increasing its coverage area slowly so the business can continue learning techniques to better connect different kinds of residences like single-dweller homes and apartment buildings. Taylor and other co-ops can operate more efficiently, quickly and inexpensively because they already have equipment, knowledgeable personnel, and some pre-existing fiber infrastructure in place, Gonzales reports.

Some cooperatives face barriers to building out broadband: they may not know how, or may be stymied by state laws, or may feel it's too financially risky, Gonzales writes. Some try to reduce that risk by partnering with nearby, like-minded co-ops to share knowledge, costs and labor.

In another article for the same magazine, Gonzales reports that California, Indiana, and Washington state recently enacted legislation to make it easier for rural co-ops to offer broadband. Some state laws pose obstacles to electric co-ops' getting into the broadband business, April Simpson reports for Stateline. Mississippi limits them to electric service, but that law is getting another look.

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