March-2024 Cooperative Living-CEC - 15

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
⊲ CONCERN FOR COMMUNITY ⊲
cities to the network.
" What we do is very similar to
SOVA
what ODEC does, " Deriso explains.
" ODEC is a generation and transmission
cooperative. Th ey own and run the
power plants that provide power to
many local electric co-ops, which then
distribute it to their members. Well,
there was nothing in telecom like that.
So we basically became like an ODEC,
where MBC was connecting the primary
internet drains, or the hubs, in Northern
Virginia, Richmond, Atlanta, etc., and
bringing that massive capacity into rural
Virginia, and then the ISPs - and now
many of the electric cooperatives -
are using our network to get to those
primary internet connection hubs. "
Deriso managed the initial
planning and network buildout,
directed engineering and construction
partners, developed relationships with
ISPs, carriers and content providers,
negotiated strategic infrastructuresharing
agreements, and built an internal
team to support sustainable operations.
In 2012, MBC made a strategic
decision to transition from a 501(c)(12)
cooperative to a 501(c)(4) nonprofi t
corporation and changed its name from
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative to
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities
Corporation.
But its business model, pricing
structure, customer focus and guiding
principle remained the same.
" Th e whole idea is to level the playing
fi eld. If you're a business, you should pay
the same in rural Virginia as you would
pay in Northern Virginia for broadband
capacity. Th at was, and still is, the
guiding principle, " says Deriso.
A NEED FOR SPEED
Deriso says that the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic was a huge
co-opliving.com
INNOVATION HUB
Over 1,770 people have
used the coworking
space or attended one
of the 136 meetings
or events held at the
SOVA Innovation Hub
since 2022.
growth driver for high-speed broadband.
" It's the same concept as power. It's
getting cold, so we turn up the heat and
use more power. When we use more
power, your local electric cooperative
needs more power - so ODEC delivers
more power. Same thing with us. But
in our world, it's not billion-dollar power
stations, it's multi-billion-dollar data
centers. "
If you didn't have high-speed
broadband during the COVID
pandemic, it was diffi cult - and, for
many in rural areas, impossible - to
transition to remote work and remote
learning, or to access healthcare services,
apply for public assistance, or order
groceries or prescriptions.
According to the Broadband
Commission for Sustainable
Development, " Quarantine measures
due to COVID-19 resulted in an
acceleration in the adoption of digital
services and broadband infrastructure. "
Hudgins says, " Th e pandemic
changed the mindset from high-speed
broadband 'would be nice to have' to
'got to have it.' "
JOB WELL DONE
According to Deriso, the reason
for the company's continued success is
simple: " We do well by doing good, "
he says. " We put in infrastructure that
makes a huge diff erence in the way
people live, work and play in
southern Virginia - and that's the
most gratifying, along with seeing it
all come together and knowing that
the original vision worked. "
MBC has accomplished, over the
last two decades, all that it was created
to do. It has enabled more than 2,000
jobs and $10 billion in private-sector
investments in the region.
" Tad's work at the helm of MBC
has been stellar, especially when it
comes to helping the community and
being a catalyst for change in Southside
Virginia, " says Hudgins.
Deriso says the company's future
is bright. " We will continue to build
out our infrastructure and expand to
where our customers need it, getting
out into more rural areas. We also hope
to continue partnering with electric
cooperatives as they build out their
infrastructure to ensure their members
have access to high-speed internet
services, " he says.
In short, MBC is all about
connections: connections to the
internet, connections to the community,
and connections to new jobs and new
investments in southern Virginia.
" At the end of the day, " says Hudgins,
" the success story of MBC speaks to the
relevancy of cooperatives, that there is
still a place - even in the 21st century
- for people pulling together to make
things happen that wouldn't happen
otherwise. "
*
March 2024 * Cooperative Living * 13
PHOTO COURTESY MBC
http://www.co-opliving.com
March-2024 Cooperative Living-CEC

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