Is a ‘Broadband Revolution’ Brewing in Rural Mississippi?

Mississippi is now seeing how legislation can swing open the door for rural broadband expansion. In Jan 2019, former Gov Phil Bryant (R-MS) signed the Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act, removing a 1942 regulation that prevented electric cooperatives from offering anything other than electricity to their members.  Since the bill was approved, nine of Mississippi’s 25 electric co-ops are in the process of building fiber to the home in their coverage areas, said Brandon Presley, northern district commissioner of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Another three co-ops are in the planning stage, and six more have expressed interest in moving forward if the Mississippi Legislature allocates money for high-speed Internet service from the $1.25 billion the state received through the federal coronavirus relief package. In other words, a total of 18 co-ops could soon offer broadband in the state. Under this scenario, the vast majority of Mississippi’s acreage would have fiber, Presley said.