North East Mississippi Electric Power Association (NEMEPA) cooperatives celebrate another year of funding and progress toward building better broadband across nine service areas.
At a recent event, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said: "We are going to be one of the most connected states in the United States of America in some of the most rural areas of America."
It has been amazing to watch. This has been not just a top priority for me but also our co-ops.
Collectively, the NEMEPA cooperatives already offer broadband to over 84,000 members and expect to expand to over 182,000 members once the work is complete.
Nine NorthEast Power Cooperatives Bringing Fiber to Rural Residents
The NEMEPA expansion took off when the cooperatives were awarded (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) RDOF grants to extend existing fiber networks or build new ones for their members. Each district received a share:
- First Light Fiber by Alcorn County Electric (ACE Power), $5.5 million
- M-Pulse Fiber by Monroe County Electric, $8.1 million
- NT Spark by Natchez Trace Electric, $10.3 million
- NE SPARC by Northeast Mississippi Electric, $12.7 million
- Prentiss Connect by Prentiss County Electric, $6.8 million
- TVI Fiber by Tallahatchie Valley Electric, $20.1 million
- TEPA Connect by Tippah Electric, $6.7 million
- Tombigbee Fiber by Tombigbee Electric, $9.8 million
- Tishomingo Connect by Tishomingo County Electric, $10.9 million
The award is a 10-year commitment with each of the nine co-ops getting a 10 percent share of the overall funding until 2029.
Six out of Nine FTTH Networks are Completed...
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