Georgia Magazine - August 2023 - 22

COOPERATIVE Concerns
By Kevin Curtin
Broadband delivers opportunity
to all of Georgia
D
id you ever hear your grandparents talk
about growing up without electricity in their
home? If so, do you remember how alien
a concept it was to imagine life without that
fundamental service?
A similar conversation may occur in the
not-too-distant future with children being told about
the " old days " when their parents had to sit in the
McDonald's parking lot to do their homework on the
internet. Let's hope that's the case.
In Georgia, universal access to broadband
internet is no longer just a distant dream. That is
in part because many electric cooperatives have
entered the broadband market to fill the gaps in
coverage that have existed for years. In early 2019,
only two of Georgia's electric membership cooperatives
(EMCs) offered broadband service to a portion
of their members. Since Senate Bill 2 was passed by
the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov.
Brian Kemp in April 2019, the landscape has
dramatically changed for the better.
Senate Bill 2 allows EMCs to provide broadband
internet service to consumers.
Four short years later, 25 of our state's 41 EMCs
are involved in directly or indirectly providing broadband
services to their membership. These 25 EMCs
plan to invest more than $1 billion to serve more
than 332,000 homes and businesses in 103 Georgia
counties.
While these 25 EMCs have taken different
approaches to providing service, their goal is the
same: help bridge the rural digital divide and make
broadband available to all Georgians, regardless of
their addresses.
New government funding programs are assisting
EMCs in their efforts to achieve universal broadband
availability. The largest of these programs is
the forthcoming Broadband, Equity, Access and
Deployment (BEAD) program. BEAD was created
by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of
2021 and includes $42.5 billion to help construct
broadband networks across the nation. The federal
government recently announced that Georgia will be
allocated more than $1.3 billion for implementation
of the forthcoming state BEAD plan for broadband
22 Georgia Magazine August 2023
Carroll
EMC
EMC BROADBAND EFFORTS
AS OF 2023
Blue Ridge
Mountain EMC
Habersham
EMC
Amicalola EMC
Jackson EMC
Cobb EMC
Kevin Curtin
EMC BROADBAND EFFORTS AS OF 2023
25
EMCs
25
EMCs
to be invested
Georgians to be served
Georgians to be served
counties to be served
+$1B
332K
103
GreyStone
Power
Central Georgia
EMC
Southern Rivers
Energy
Diverse
Power
Tri-County
EMC
Oconee
EMC
Flint Energies
Sumter EMC
Diverse
Power
Mitchell
EMC
Colquitt EMC
Grady
EMC
EMC broadband network started prior to
passage of Georgia Broadband Opportunity Act
EMC providing or to provide retail broadband service through
alliate/subsidiary or via partnership
Served Areas
Unserved Areas
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Suite 845, 75 Fifth St NW, Atlanta GA 30308 * (404) 521-7600 * georgiaemc.com
deployments and enhancements.
Georgia's EMCs are confident that access to high-quality, fiber-based
broadband internet service will be a " game-changer " for the residents of
rural Georgia. Robust availability of broadband services and the growing
trend of working from home could provide new options for Georgians
looking to live in a community that better fits their lifestyles.
With the active participation of Georgia EMCs and the availability of
new government resources, universal broadband availability could be a
reality within the next decade. The delivery of broadband connections by
EMCs doubles down on their role of bringing vital services to residents
in parts of the state not served by other utilities-just as EMCs brought
electricity to Georgia decades ago. The adage " the more things change, the
more they stay the same " has never been more accurate.
Kevin Curtin is senior vice president for government relations at
Tucker-based Georgia EMC.
Middle Georgia
EMC
Ocmulgee
EMC
Altamaha
EMC
Washington
EMC
Jefferson
Energy
Cooperative
counties to be served
to be invested
+$1B
332K
103
Irwin EMC
Satilla REMC
Coastal
Electric
Cooperative
GEORGIA EMC

Georgia Magazine - August 2023

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