New law lets electric co-ops provide but costs are barrier
A new law allows rural electric cooperatives to provide broadband internet service, but doing so in sparsely populated areas may prove too expensive.
For example, it would cost an estimated $130 million for the Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association to run fiber optic cable over its 6,000-miles of lines, according to a study commissioned by 18 of the state’s 25 rural electric cooperatives mile. That means it would cost, on average, more than $2,400 per home to provide service.
And, unlike electricity, there’s not going to be 100 percent participation. Kurt Brautigam, spokesman for PRVEPA, said a recent survey of its customers showed about 60 percent already have some kind of internet at home. Of the remainder, about 20 percent expressed interest in signing up for broadband internet packages priced theoretically at about $50 and $80, according to the survey.
Brautigam said PRVEPA realizes it’s an important issue to provide high-speed internet to rural areas and would be interested in pursuing it if it proves feasible. But he said the financial realities and level of member interest means it would be “very difficult for us to move forward with this.”
“Expectations need to be realistic,” he said.
The law made a quick run through the Legislature this year. Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, a Democrat, had pushed it based on a similar law in Alabama, and it found broad bipartisan support. House Bill 366, the Rural Broadband Enabling Act, passed overwhelmingly in the House (115-3) and the Senate (52-0). Gov. Phil Bryant signed it into law on Jan. 30.
The law removes the prohibition from electric cooperatives for providing anything other than electricity on their lines. The thought is that they already have much of the poles and other infrastructure to provide broadband internet service, which is lacking in much of Mississippi.
Only 60 percent of Mississippians subscribe to internet service at home, the lowest rate in the nation, according to the FCC. And just 25 percent have what is considered broadband (25 megabytes per second download speed and 3 MB/S upload), the FCC reported as of June 30, 2017.
The new state law provides another option for providing that service, but it does not require electric co-ops, which are member-owned nonprofits, to do so and customers cannot be compelled to sign up. Also, electric co-ops cannot use their existing electricity business to subsidize the cost of their internet business. That means co-ops would have to start essentially a new company with staff like technicians and customer support representatives, Brautigam said.
He said even if PRVEPA decided to provide internet service, it would take six to 10 years to roll it out. While that’s not likely to happen as things stand now, Brautigam said they’ll continue to do due diligence in researching the issue.
“We will continue to look at different areas and opportunities and possible partners to see if things change in the future,” he said.
