Telecom, Utility Partnership Pursues Arkansas Gigabit

A rural telecommunication service provider and a neighboring rural electric power cooperative are coming together to bring gigabit broadband to parts of rural Arkansas. The rural telecommunication company is South Arkansas Telephone (SATCO) and the power company is Ouachita Electric Cooperative (OECC). The telecom, utility partnership has formed a new company called Arkansas Rural Internet Service (ARIS) – and according to ARIS Director Mark Lundy, each owner has a 50% share of ARIS. Plans call for deploying fiber-to-the-premises to 9500 OECC member homes and businesses, many of which have had to rely on satellite for video and broadband services. The project is expected to take three years to complete. The incumbent carrier in the target area is one of the large price cap carriers.