WALTHALL —Natchez Trace Electric Power Association should continue studying the economic feasibility of offering high-speed internet service to its customers, Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley says.
That was the main topic of discussion at a town hall meeting Presley hosted at the Webster County Courthouse on Oct. 14. The Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act, signed into law Jan. 30, allows the state’s electric power associations for the first time to also provide broadband internet service.
“You can’t participate in the rural economy without high-speed internet,” Presley said, explaining how broadband access is critical in everything from academics and small businesses to medical care.
Mississippi is 49th in the nation in access to high-speed internet service, he said. While many people do have some sort of access to broadband, he said that also includes expensive options like satellites.
‘Issue of the Day’
NTEPA is not among the five rural electric cooperatives in the state that have since announced they are going to offer broadband service, according to the Northern District commissioner.
“Natchez Trace has done one study and nothing else in the past 10 months,” he told the nearly 30 people present.
Presley said the cooperative will be locked out of federal grant money for 10 years if it doesn’t act soon to send out a broadband survey to its customers and conduct a second study.
He was referring to the Federal Communication Commission’s upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which will commit at least $20.4 billion over the next decade to support high-speed broadband networks in rural America. It will award funding to providers using a reverse auction process. Presley noted that a cooperative can bid lower because it has no profit incentive and would receive extra points because it could offer the best service available (1 gigabit).
“I can’t force anybody to do anything,” he said in asking those present to talk to NTEPA board members about “the issue of the day.”
On Feb. 28, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, officials with agencies including USDA Rural Development, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration told area electric cooperative leaders that money in the form of grants and loans is available for them to tap into.
MEGAPOP, a nonprofit group formed in 2002 to help bring high-speed internet access to north Mississippi, helped put together the meeting. The newspaper reported MEGAPOP also gave $7,000 checks to each of the 14 electric co-ops in its coverage area to help pay for feasibility studies looking into costs and return on investment. These included NTEPA, according to Presley.
“The money has been there to pay for a second study, but it hasn’t been done,” he said. “I don’t think we can sidestep this issue for years to come. …“AT&T is never going to bring high-quality internet service to the most rural areas of Webster County.”
NTEPA Board
Two members of the NTEPA board of directors were present at last week’s meeting: Joe Hays of Walthall and Robbie Harrington of Mantee. The member-owned electric cooperative serves portions of seven counties, including Webster.
Hays said the board is aware of the importance of broadband service and is not against it, but is proceeding with caution.
The cooperative’s initial study determined that the cost to provide internet service to approximately 12,000 members would be $37 million, according to Hays. This is based on an estimated 35% percent participation rate with a bill of $50 a month.
Hays said the board had not done a second study because it was concerned about member-owners’ electric bills going up if the subsidiary broadband company that must be formed defaults.
“I’m for it but we want to see a clear path to pay for it without putting our customers and owners in jeopardy,” he said.
While acknowledging debt risks exist on the electric side if the project collapsed, Presley pointed out that income from pole fees paid by broadband vendors should be taken into consideration, along with the available federal grant funds. He also emphasized that the project would be divided into phases and the cooperative would not have to pay all of the costs at one time.
“I feel like the board doesn’t have the full picture,” said Presley, who predicted the signup percentage would be much higher than 35%.
“The danger is in not trying. … There’s too many models where this is working.”
Hays said he and Harrington would take the information they heard at the meeting back to the full NTEPA board, which was to meet Tuesday night, Oct. 22, in Houston.
Presley said he would be willing to meet with the board and would pay for the gas for board members to travel to Hamilton, Ala., to study how the Tombigbee Electric Power Cooperative headquartered there began offering broadband internet service to it customers for $50 a month.
Community Involvement
Presley said time is of the essence for NTEPA to send out a broadband survey and conduct a second study. He noted that Monroe County EPA has mailed out such a survey. According to a press release posted on its website (www.monroecountyelectric.com), that association’s board decided in February to obtain two feasibility studies regarding broadband.
An updated study presented to the board on Oct. 1 projected the study over a four-year buildout of approximately $7 million annually.
“The study shows reasonable periods of time to break even and achieve positive cash flow and long-term payback,” the release states.
Ricky Watson of the Center community said, “I feel like we should come together and petition Natchez Trace to do everything they can (and show us what they’ve done). … “It’s going to take community involvement and talking to people.”
Presley also touched on efforts to bring natural gas service to areas that show interest, caller ID spoofing, telemarketing scams and call blocking apps.
