4-County has won more than $35 million in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction held in late 2020. The auction, held by the Federal Communication Commission, had more than $20 billion available for projects across the country.
The award will allow 4-County’s new FASTnet broadband to continue its rollout to the Association’s entire membership. 4-County CEO Brian Clark says the funding is key to making the broadband project viable.
“We know how vital broadband is to our members, especially the many who don’t have access to affordable, reliable high speed internet. But bringing it to them is going to be very expensive. That’s why we’ve spent many months working on other funding resources like RDOF and now it has paid off,” said Clark. The total buildout is expected to cost around $110 million and will take several years to complete. “Getting that award has been huge for us in terms of making our project viable and in lessening financial risk to 4-County. As we’ve said since we began looking at broadband, one of the major issues was always the cost and potential financial threat to our membership and with this funding, we are very optimistic as we move forward,” said Clark.
Currently, FASTnet is deploying broadband services in three different areas in West Clay, Northeast Choctaw and North Noxbuee counties. Those projects, funded by a $6 million matching state grant, will make broadband available to some 2700 members. Once the pilots are complete, which should be mid-summer at the latest, the buildout will continue to the rest of 4-County’s service territory. “We are in the process of finalizing our total project buildout plan right now. We expect that to be complete in the next couple of months. When that is complete we will let our members know what the plan looks like and give them an idea of when they’ll be able to receive broadband,” says Clark. Clark encourages members to use the FASTnet’s website, www. 4cfastnet. com, for project updates and to get in the system if they are interested in service. “Getting us your information soon can help us make some decisions as far as where we might go first. If we see a lot of interest in particular areas, that data can help us plan,” he said. He also encourages members to follow FASTnet on Facebook and Instagram by searching @4cfastnet.
Clark stressed that outside funding was critical in helping 4-County and the rest of Mississippi’s electric cooperatives step in and provide broadband when others wouldn’t. “We appreciate all our elected officials who made this money available. From our Senate and Congressional delegations, to state officials and the state lawmakers who made CARES Act funding available this summer. With both grants that’s more than $40 million dollars to help us connect our rural areas to internet,” he said.
4-County will receive $35,584,890 which will be paid out in equal installments over 10 years. In total, Mississippi projects won some $495 million, which was the second highest total awarded, behind California’s $695 million.
