director of economic development at blue ridge mountain emc

#Director of economic development at blue ridge mountain emc tv#

Internet service from North Georgia EMCs started slowly but greatly expanded with the arrival of $33 million in federal stimulus funding and $9 million in local funding for Georgia broadband service in 2009, said Bill Verner, a senior vice president for Georgia EMC, a trade association that serves the state’s 41 electric membership corporations. Those prices are competitive with similar offerings from other internet companies. “We were in a good position to meet a need for all of our members.”īlue Ridge Mountain EMC’s fiber internet service starts at $42.95 per month for a 30 megabit-per-second connection and costs $99.95 monthly for 100 megabit-per-second access. “One of the greatest concerns our community had was the lack of connectivity and the lack of economic development, and the ‘brain drain’ that was occurring” when professionals move away, Nelms said. Just as cooperative electric companies brought power to outlying areas under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs in the 1930s, they can extend internet access today. They don’t want to be left behind again by digital networks that are essential infrastructure for business, education and health. Many rural areas have been bypassed by interstate highways, rail lines and airports that drive economic growth, said Jeremy Nelms, the general manager for Blue Ridge Mountain EMC. The Georgia Cable Association’s members include Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox Communications, the cable and broadband internet subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, which also owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It is imperative that the state adopt strict cross-subsidy and fair competition rules to ensure that the EMCs don’t use their monopoly power to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors in the broadband market,” Loftin said. For example, EMCs shouldn't be allowed to subsidize their internet products through their electricity business.

But if they want to expand into communities that already have internet options, they should be required to play by the same regulatory rules, he said. A bill that would have granted EMCs permission to provide internet access didn't pass during this year's session of the Georgia General Assembly.Ĭable companies don't object to letting EMCs provide internet service to underserved areas, said Stephen Loftin of the Georgia Cable Association.

#Director of economic development at blue ridge mountain emc tv#

Today, the electricity cooperative has 7,500 internet subscribers, a number that’s steadily rising to reach more of its 46,000 power customers.īut the potential for small-town internet through electricity cooperatives faces opposition from traditional internet service providers through cable TV or phone companies.