Electric Cooperatives mark 1 million milestone for fiber network

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas announced Thursday (Sept. 19) a milestone in high-speed internet broadband access throughout the state, as cooperative fiber providers have delivered broadband capability to more than one million Arkansans.

More than 40,000 miles of fiber have been installed collectively by 17 cooperative broadband providers. The providers include 15 local broadband cooperative providers, a cooperative middle mile fiber company and a wholesale broadband provider.

Upon completion of the current cooperative fiber projects, 53,000 miles of fiber will be installed in electric cooperative service areas and provide high-speed, dependable internet service to more than 1.2 million Arkansans.

“The locally controlled cooperatives exist to improve the quality of life of the residents in their communities,” said Vernon “Buddy” Hasten, president/CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. “Just like electricity transformed rural America and rural Arkansas back in the 1930s and 1940s, high-speed broadband is transforming rural Arkansas today. No longer does a person have to live in a metropolitan area to have access to lightning-fast internet service. No longer do young people have to leave their communities to work for a national or international company.”

He added that high-speed internet levels the playing field for rural Arkansans by providing equal access to educational services, medical services and enables small businesses to compete.

Nearly 80% of the cooperative fiber investments are self-funded without grant subsidies.