The Natchez Trace Electric Power Association plans to conduct a second study to determine the economic feasibility of offering high-speed internet service to its customers.
NTEPA’s board of directors voted unanimously Oct. 22 to conduct a second feasibility study in preparation for federal grants being offered for rural broadband next year, according to General Manager Shawn Edmondson.
The Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act enacted this year allows the state’s electric power associations to also provide broadband internet service.
Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, during an Oct. 14 town hall meeting in Walthall, said NTEPA had only conducted one study looking into broadband costs and return on investment. He said it would be locked out of federal grant money for 10 years if it didn’t act soon to conduct a second study and send out a broadband survey.
The federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will commit billions over the next decade to support high-speed broadband networks in rural America. It will award funding to providers using a reverse auction process.
Two NTEPA directors attended Presley’s town hall meeting: Joe Hays of Walthall and Robbie Harrington of Mantee. Hays said then that the cooperative was not against offering broadband but was proceeding with caution.
