Electric cooperatives could be the key to solving the rural digital divide

In 1937, when only about 10 percent of Central Virginians in rural areas had electric service, a small group of citizens banded together to form the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative. With some help from a new federal loan program, they brought electricity to the mountainous, rural terrain, which encompasses areas such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail. Some 80 years later, that same co-op is working to connect its territory again, this time by bringing high-speed internet access to its 38,000 electricity members across parts of 14 counties. It's not an easy job. While some parts of the co-op's territory might have access to slower DSL service or spotty cell phone service, other places hidden among the mountains may not be reachable even by satellite. 

Electric co-ops and publicly owned municipal electric utilities have a number of natural advantages that let them deploy and provide fiber-based broadband service, said Jon Sallet. A fellow with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and a former general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, Sallet focuses on policies to support FCC actions to promote broadband access and deployment. For instance, these electric utilities already reach everyone within their service areas. They've built much of the necessary infrastructure for providing broadband, such as utility poles that are used to string fiber for broadband, and they can leverage existing resources, such as billing, customer support and administrative personnel. Sallet said all of that means the co-ops should face fewer risks and lower entry costs compared with other new entrants.