TRENTON, Tenn. – Gibson Connect, a wholly-owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Gibson Electric Membership Corporation, was announced among 33 cooperative recipients nationwide as winners of the Federal Communications Commission Connect American Fund II (CAF II) reverse auction on August 28, 2018.
Winning electric cooperatives will collectively receive $220 million over ten years to help defray the costs of deploying broadband in unserved areas. The CAF II auction marks the first time that the FCC allowed electric cooperatives to bid for funding as broadband service providers. Gibson Connect will receive a total of $1.22 million distributed over 10 years ($41,000 per year for its Kentucky service area and $81,000 per year for its Tennessee service area). Program requirements must be met to receive funds from the Universal Service Fund.
“Gibson Connect’s award will aid in making fiber-based service at a speed of 1 Gbps available to over 300 rural locations in Kentucky and Tennessee at our normal retail rates,” said Gibson EMC VP of Technical Services and Gibson Connect VP of Operations Charles Phillips.
“These auction results highlight the power of cooperative partnerships and collaboration as electric co-ops work to bring broadband to unserved communities in rural America,” said National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson. “We thank the FCC for allowing electric co-ops to participate in this auction, and look forward to building on this success moving forward. We are committed to continuing the rural broadband conversation and working with policymakers at the federal, state and local level on technology and funding solutions that will enrich the lives of rural American families and businesses.”
“We are happy to share the news of this achievement with our members,” said Gibson Connect and Gibson Electric Membership Corporation President and CEO Dan Rodamaker. “As Gibson Connect continues to use a participation model enabling members to determine the order of our advanced broadband communication system buildout, we also will concurrently continue to explore all possible resources for funding. This is your cooperative; and we are committed to doing all we can to improve the quality of our members’ lives,” Rodamaker said. “Today, this means providing our members and our communities with access to high-speed, fiber-based internet service.”
To learn more about Gibson Connect and to register for service, go to join.gibsonconnect.com or call/visit any of Gibson EMC’s member service centers.
Gibson EMC is a local, not-for-profit, member-owned and member-controlled electric cooperative serving almost 39,000 homes and businesses in eight west Tennessee counties (Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion and Madison) and four west Kentucky counties (Carlisle, Fulton, Graves and Hickman). Gibson Connect is a wholly-owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Gibson EMC working to provide high-speed, fiber-based internet access to Gibson EMC member-owners.
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