![]() ![]() Several electric cooperatives provide Internet service themselves. ![]() These stories show the many different ways electric cooperatives have structured partnerships and programs for their members. We have written many articles and collected several reports detailing how electric cooperatives have tried to increase Internet access in their communities. This could then form the backbone of a network for Internet service to businesses and residents. Several of these electric cooperatives started by building fiber optic lines to substations and large demand centers to increase the reliability of the electric system through better monitoring. About 90 rural electric co-ops have embarked on fiber optic projects to increase Internet access for their members. Their service area, however, covers more than half of the total land, nearly 2 million square miles. More than 900 rural electric cooperatives provide electricity to about 12 percent of the U.S. In Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode 91, Christopher Mitchell and Lisa Gonzalez discusses strategies for building Internet infrastructure in rural are. Added to these factors, rural communities may not have access to the same financial resources as larger towns and cities do. Low population density coupled with rough terrain can make building infrastructure challenging. Rural areas face a number of challenges that urban and suburban communities do not. Now they have the chance to do that again by building next-generation networks for Internet service. Cooperatives have a long history of building and maintaining essential infrastructure and providing excellent service in rural communities. In the 1950s, the federal government again supported communities building telephone networks, crisscrossing the country with telephone cooperatives to connect rural communities.Įach technology brought new markets, revitalized economies, and revolutionized industries. Department of Agriculture supported communities as they created more than 900 electric cooperatives across the country. The member owners control the cooperative: each person receiving service is a member of the cooperative and can directly vote in elections for the Board of Directors or even become a member of the Board. Community Broadband Bits Podcasts Why Rural Cooperatives?Ĭooperatives are part of the fabric of rural America. ![]()
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