Tennessee electric co-op buys controlling interest in internet provider to bring broadband to its rural customers - Entrepreneur Generations

An electric co-op 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 collaboration between Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation and United Communications, announced last month, is the first partnership between a co-op and a private company in the state to offer broadband.

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Middle Tennessee has 225,000 business and residential members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties, which are south and east of Nashville. Instead of building out its own broadband networks, as co-ops in some other states have, Middle Tennessee bought a controlling interest in United Communications. 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."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2NkTPY2 Tennessee electric co-op buys controlling interest in internet provider to bring broadband to its rural customers - Entrepreneur Generations

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