ROGERSVILLE — Standing-room-only crowds at three membership meetings held last week by Holston Electric Cooperative made it clear that they want —and in many cases desperately need for educational and employment reasons — dependable, high-speed broadband internet service.
Attendance at the meetings, held at two county schools and at HEC’s own truck and equipment bay in Rogersville, far exceeded the utility’s expectations, officials said, as input and comments were gathered from those present regarding the co-op’s goal of providing broadband service for its members, some 40 percent of whom have no access whatsoever to broadband.
General Manager Jimmy Sandlin told those present that Gov. Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act would remove current restrictions that prohibit electric utilities from providing that service, and added that the General Assembly is expected to vote on the bill by the end of March.
Passage of that bill would be a catalyst to make internet more available to underserved, rural areas throughout the state and a step in the right direction, Sandlin said, but cautioned that the process will not be fast, nor will it be cheap. But Sandlin said that HEC, himself, and the utility’s board of directors are committed to doing everything in their power to provide the service if that is what the membership desires.
Sandlin, who has experience in such a project at a former electric co-op where he served in Alabama’s Tennessee Valley, said that the cost to install state-of-the-art fiber optic cable along HEC’s more than 1,700 miles of service-area lines would cost in the $120 million range, and that — in order to make such an expenditure economically feasible — the utility would need a minimum of 80% participation from its customers.
That didn’t seem to be a problem at the Wednesday evening, March 8, meeting at HEC’s home base in Rogersville, with more than 90% of the crowd — estimated by some to be more than 3,000 — signing pledges to become a broadband user if the service is offered by HEC at some point in the future.
An online and paper survey taken at the meeting indicated that about 60 percent of those present would be willing to pay $75 or more per month for the service.
Current “cable” and satellite rates for most broadband services average $50-$100 per month, but in many areas of Hawkins County, neither cable nor satellite service is offered or available.
Sandlin said that HEC is currently building what could be the “internal backbone” of a future broadband system — an eventual 110-mile fiber optic network that will allow the utility to monitor and communicate electronically with all of its substations, thereby being immediately aware of any outage or other problem.
That “smart grid”, Sandlin said, is expected to cost in the $36 million range, and would have more than enough capacity to become what he called a trunk line for later expansion to allow service to residential customers if that change to Tennessee law is made by legislators.
Once that grid is built, Sandlin said, HEC would need another $84 million in order to make broadband fully available to all of its customers.
“These networks are very expensive to build, costing an average of $70,000 per mile,” Sandlin said. “There are no guarantees that all members would sign up, so that’s something that has to be taken into consideration. This system will be very, very expensive to build and it has to be cost effective for us, as the provider, and for you, as the customer.”
TVA regulations require that revenues collected for electric service be used solely for that purpose, he said.
“We cannot use the electric revenue that we collect from you every month to provide cable TV or Internet service for you,” he added.
Sandlin said that the company has looked at a variety of options as to how such a plan could be put into place, and has even hired a consultant who is working with HEC to formulate a business plan.
An “in house” option would mean that HEC and its members would have to shoulder the entire cost of running the lines and installing broadband service equipment. That would take more time, he said, but a benefit would be that HEC would have total control over the quality of the service provided and the revenue it would bring in.
The second option would be to partner with other providers in the region, such as Scott Co. (VA) Telephone Cooperative which is — through a grant — expanding its own cable TV and internet services into the Stanley Valley portion of Hawkins County. In addition, Morristown Utility has also expressed interest in partnering with HEC, Sandlin said.
“Pluses” of that option would include sharing the cost of construction with another entity, having more access to grants, and being able to provide service months if not years sooner. “Negatives” would be that HEC would not have total control over the quality of service provided, would have to share revenues, and could not set limits on rates that customers pay.
Sandlin pointed out that, with the Scott Co. expansion in Stanley Valley, for example, only about 50 households have taken advantage of the services to-date.
“For any project that we do, we would need the participation rate to be higher, much higher,” he said. The participation rate needs to be 80 percent or more.”
Sandlin quoted a former Major League Baseball Commissioner who made famous the line, “If enough people care about something, anything is possible.”
“You are those people,” Sandlin said. “We work for you, and what we’re trying to do here is start a conversation, to look at broadband, what is lacking in the area of service in your communities, the Holston Electric Cooperative service area, and trying to find a solution that will give you better service and give you better access to broadband.”
Michelle Simpson, Director of Member Services, conducted the on-site online and paper-form survey, and told those present that the results would be compiled and members’ comments taken into consideration.
Sandlin said that a representative, “member-driven” broadband advisory committee will be formed to serve as a resource and “sounding board” as the utility moves forward.
One woman in attendance, who said she lives in Surgoinsville, where she said her own internet service by the community’s only land-line based provider has been non-existent since Labor Day weekend of 2016, told the Review following the meeting that she is “sick and tired” of having to load up her two school-age children every night and drive from Surgoinsville to Rogersville or Church Hill where they spend hours at fast-food restaurants utilizing those facilities’ wi-fi internet service.
“We spent three hours there last evening, just sitting in the parking lot, because that’s the only way my children can get internet to do research for their homework,” she said. “In this day and time, it is ridiculous for anyone to have to do this. It is costly and it is inconvenient. There’s no reason some of these internet companies can’t provide us with better service. That’s why I am here, to show support for Holston Electric. If their service costs $100 or more, I would gladly pay it because I’m probably spending that much or more on gas every month hauling my children all over creation trying to find wi-fi!” Those attending the meetings were encouraged to contact their local legislators to let them know how they feel about the issue, and to make sure that elected officials in Nashville realize just how serious the widespread lack of broadband internet in Hawkins County really is.
