Presley Signs Final Approval Of 91 Million Dollars In FCC Broadband Funds

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley chose Tupelo’s Robins Field for the ceremony. It is the same spot, wherein 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt celebrated Tupelo becoming the “First TVA City.”

Presley says reliable, high-speed internet, is as important now, as affordable electricity was in the 1930s.

“This 91 million dollars is going to help 42 thousand homes across North Mississippi, internet service today is a necessity, not a luxury, people have to have it, this pandemic has shown that. And this is an investment in the people of Mississippi, an investment in our communities, our businesses so they can have a chance to succeed,” Presley said.

The money comes from the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Nine electric coop subsidiaries received final approval for funding at the signing ceremony. Before the electric cooperatives could offer broadband service, state laws had to be changed. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle say ensuring every resident has access to quality, reliable high-speed internet is not a partisan issue.

“It’s nonpartisan because it helps everybody, it helps the business economy, education capability, these kinds of things we lacked in years previous, but we’re catching up now,” said Dist. 19 State Rep. Randy Boyd.

“This is the only structure that makes sense, a nonprofit, a cooperative whose goal is not to pay money to shareholders, not to maximize profits, but to provide broadband at affordable rates to its customers, that’s what we’ve got, it’s what we need throughout the country,” said Dist. 7 State Sen. Hob Bryan.

Co-ops invest millions to supply broadband service, so the federal funds are a big help.

“Our project is a 30 million dollar project, the cooperative is borrowing the money to do this build, we have the approval to borrow the full 30 million, the 8 million will go toward the payments,” said Barry Rowland, of M-Pulse Fiber.

These FCC dollars will be distributed to each co-op over a ten-year period. These funds are part of phase one of what will be a 20 billion dollar program to bridge the digital divide in the United States.

Similar ceremonies will be held Wednesday with 4 County Electric and Delta Electric and on Friday with East Mississippi Electric.