DENVER, Sept. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband
telecommunications and internet access have become essential
infrastructure for any community's future prosperity. However,
today, people living in rural communities are four times more
likely to lack access to broadband than those in urban
communities.
While many remain without access to broadband today, rural
electric cooperatives, some of which were formed nearly 80 years
ago to bring electricity to rural America, are increasingly making
the move into broadband to fill the supply gap.
A comprehensive 57-page report from CoBank outlines keys to
success and lessons learned from six co-ops bringing broadband to
their rural customers. Also, industry experts provide their
insights, which will likely prove helpful to other co-ops
considering the move.
"This is vital technology that is equally important for rural
communities as it is in urban areas. Precision agriculture is
hastening a revolution in data usage on the part of American
farmers, and increased bandwidth is critical to health care,
manufacturing, schools and even tourism in these communities," said
Bill LaDuca, sector vice president
for electric distribution, CoBank.
Within this landscape, rural electric co-ops are exploring how
their existing distribution networks may lend themselves to highly
efficient deployment of broadband.
Many co-ops have found that building out a broadband network
using their existing infrastructure is an efficient way to help
manage a modern, connected electrical grid as well as a productive
way to serve rural customers with high-speed internet either on
their own or through a partnership with established
telecommunications providers.
"The consultants and co-ops we spoke with to develop our report
were very candid in sharing their experiences and challenges," said
LaDuca. "We believe these in-depth interviews can be tremendously
helpful to other co-ops evaluating broadband and investigating
funding sources. Bridging the data divide is critically important
for our rural communities and CoBank is supportive of efforts
similar to what these electric co-ops have done for their
constituencies."
The full report, "Making the Move Into Broadband, Rural Electric
Co-ops Detail Their Experiences," is available to media upon
request.
About CoBank
CoBank is a $125 billion cooperative
bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank
provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial
services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and
communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides
wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm
Credit associations serving more than 70,000 farmers, ranchers and
other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.
CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide
network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to
support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural
infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside
Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves
customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also
maintains an international representative office in Singapore.
For more information about CoBank, visit the bank's web site at
www.cobank.com.
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SOURCE CoBank