Rural electric co-ops are the fastest growing group of broadband providers

A lot of attention has been given to the sprawling fiber expansions announced by large operators like AT&T, Charter Communications and Frontier Communications. But there’s another rapidly growing cohort of companies quietly working to deliver broadband to some of the hardest to reach areas of the country: electric companies and cooperatives. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson said electric co-ops haven’t always been part of the broadband equation. Back when the Federal Communications Commission ran its Connect America Fund program, for instance, co-ops weren’t even allowed to participate, he said. But after lobbying Congress and the FCC, Matheson said co-ops were allowed to bid in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction in 2020 and came away with a sizable chunk of money. All told, electric co-ops won $1.6 billion, with the majority of that awarded to 180 co-ops which competed as part of five different consortiums. One such group, the Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium, was the third largest RDOF winner overall, walking away with $1.1 billion in winning bids. Matheson said co-ops have also successfully secured funding from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Program as well. Already, Matheson said around 200 of NRECA’s 900 members have or are in the process of rolling out retail broadband. He stressed that “doesn’t mean every electric co-op is going to or should go into broadband business,” but there is a significant opportunity for those in rural regions.