Jeff Wilson, president and CEO of Western Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative, said a conversation with Jim Lovinggood of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative at a 2020 legislative reception sparked the call to Anderson The idea of providing internet services in rural areas of the county.
During the conversation, they discovered that electric cooperative companies were getting involved in the Internet business one after another because none of the major Internet companies provided services in rural areas.
Wilson and Lovingood saw this as an opportunity to work together to provide internet service to rural areas of Anderson County.
Western Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative has provided full fiber network to Abbeville, McCormick, Eva and Starr counties since 2011, Wilson said.
In March 2021, they connected their first customer through the new Blue Ridge Electric partnership. “Serving nearly 13,000 residents in underserved areas of Anderson County,” Wilson said.
It’s been nearly three years since the two companies joined forces, and now they’re planning to expand service with WCFIBER, a subsidiary of Western Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative (WCTEL), and Upcountry Fiber, a partnership between Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative (BREC) and WCFIBER .
“Utility cooperatives like ours have a long history of serving our neighbors in traditionally underserved areas,” Lovingood said in a release.
According to the South Carolina Broadband Office, nearly 3,000 Anderson County addresses currently require broadband Internet service included in the grant.
Wilson mentioned that they will serve multiple areas in the North Country, including Belton, Honey Pass, Fort Roberts, Homeland Park, Williamston, Piercetown, Sandy Springs, French and Broadway.
Grants help bring internet to underserved areas
A $32 million federal grant from the South Carolina Broadband Office, WCFIBER and Upcountry Fiber will help provide high-speed Internet access to more than 10,000 homes and businesses in the region.
“We are extremely grateful to Jim Stritzinger and his team at the South Carolina Office of Broadband for providing us with this opportunity,” Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn said in a release. grant so that more Anderson County citizens can have access to this necessary utility.”
Western Carolina Telephone Co. and Blue Ridge Electric Co. will invest $10 million to serve an additional 10,000 addresses.
“This grant not only benefits people in their homes, it also gives them access to better health care, education and employment opportunities, which helps build a better, more competitive world for everyone,” Lovingood said. community.”
Construction begins and workers are needed
Construction work has begun and is expected to be completed in 2025.
A project of this scale also increases employment opportunities for area residents.
Wilson said the immediate need is for construction workers, engineers, linemen, cable slicers, installers and technicians.
“Last fall, we had over 600 people working on these projects in Anderson County and surrounding counties,” he said.
Once construction is complete, WCFIBER and Upcountry Fiber will invest approximately $76 million in broadband to previously underserved areas since 2021, primarily funded by this grant.
Approximately 1,155.8 miles of fiber will be built to reach nearly 19,000 eligible residential addresses.
Addresses included in the South Carolina Broadband Office grant and an additional 10,000 addresses around them will be able to sign up for broadband Internet service through WCFIBER or Upcountry Fiber, depending on their location.
Western Carolina Telephone Cooperative has provided fiber optic Internet service to portions of the Starr-Iva community in Anderson County for more than 15 years and has provided telecommunications services since the cooperative was founded more than 70 years ago.
Travis Ross covers Anderson County for The Independent. Contact him via email: trose@gannett.com.
BREC officials. “Without access to high-speed, reliable internet, communities lose ground.
With it, rural communities in the North have a better chance of becoming stronger, with a more compelling economic development story, easier access to information for students to learn, educators to teach, and our neighbors to be better able to Apply for jobs and, if needed, meet with your doctor virtually for better access to health care. Entertainment options are an added bonus. “
Travis Ross covers Anderson County for The Independent. Contact him via email: trose@gannett.com