Who would have thought 25 years ago that high speed internet access would be seen as a basic need? 

But it has become just that. 

Remember dial-up modems? 

Remember ICQ?

Remember Napster? 

My how things have changed. 

Applying for a new job? 

You’ll need high-speed access. 

Have a video conference or webinar required by your employer? 

You’ll need high-speed access. 

Need to check your government benefits and there is no local office or the office is closed? 

Your insurance provider encourages remote access doctor’s visits? 

Yep, you’ll need reliable broadband for those things as well. And if you are taking distance learning classes with a college or university … well, you get the idea. 

So, we are not even talking about streaming video of your favorite movies or shows, we are talking about your job, your health and accessing even the most basic information. 

That’s the world we live in.  

Still many communities lack access and there seems to be little incentive for major internet service providers to run fiber or basic transmission lines into sparsely populated parts of the state because the return on investment is negligible, at best. 

So, state lawmakers have an idea. 

Rural cooperatives, electric utilities, already have infrastructure in place, right of way, an established customer base, relationships with those customers, billing mechanisms and could provide internet access more quickly and maybe even more affordably. 

To be honest, at this point even if it is not quick and inexpensive, anything is better than nothing, or virtually nothing. 

But, we do not think the permanent solution to rural high speed internet access is having the electric cooperatives provide exclusive access. 

We think competition is good for the consumer, keeps prices down and drives innovation. 

Established telecommunications companies do provide the best service and because they are profit driven and face competition can often offer competitive pricing. Yet, they are not incentivized to provide service in more rural areas because of the limited number of potential customers, and just waiting on the big telecomm’s to expand into our most rural communities is simply not realistic or fair to the public. 

So, right now, today, the problem is not a lack of competition, the problem is the lack of internet service. 

Statewide, at least 626,070 people live without access to broadband services, according to the Federal Communications Commission. 

So, we are on board.

We support Sen. Steve Gooch’s plan to allow EMCs to delve into the internet service provider business and urge our legislative delegation to fast track this piece of business through the General Assembly. 

It is not the best solution and probably not the long-term solution, but for now, it seems to be the only solution that will get the job done in a timely manner.