High Speed Internet III
By Alex Saitta
February 17, 2021
Introduction:
As I mentioned in my last letter, one issue that zoomed to the forefront in this past election was high speed internet service (HSIS), or the lack of it in rural areas. When Covid-19 hit and with the onset of e-learning, telemedicine and more employees working from home, the lack of HSIS in the rural areas came to light.
The Legislature:
The South Carolina legislature helped tremendously in September when it passed a law enabling electric co-ops to utilize their existing electricity network to provide HSIS. This new law broadened electricity easements/ permissions to include internet wires, specifically stating, “Utilizing electric easements to provide broadband services, especially existing overhead or underground facilities…”
Blue Ridge:
In October Blue Ridge Electric announced it was taking the first step toward supplying HSIS across Pickens County and the four surrounding counties it serves. Working with West Carolina Telephone Cooperative, the two companies started and are now completing a pilot program in the Seneca, Stillwater subdivision.
That went better than expected and Blue Ridge is now offering three HSIS programs -- upload/ download speeds of 200 mbps at a cost of $50 a month, 500 mbps at $65, and 1,000 mbps for a monthly cost of $80.
Blue Ridge’s hope is to offer their HSIS service to all residents of Pickens County by the end of a 5 to 7 year period, with the total investment being $30 to $40 million in the construction of the county’s network.
Boxes 1 to 8:
In Pickens County the initial focus will be on the 8 most un/underserved areas or boxes of the county. Box 1 is located in the Vineyards/ Eastatoe area (126 households no or service less than 10 mbps),
Box 2: Table Rock (192 households with no or service less than 10 mbps),
Box 3: River Bluff/ East Highway 11 (329 households),
Box 4: North Shady Grove Road (350 households),
Box 5: Pumpkintown/ Griffin (169 households),
Box 6: Northern Six Mile (95 households),
Box 7: South Six Mile/ Norris (162 households).
Box 8: Liberty (467 households with no service or service less than 10 mpbs).
In Pickens County, Blue Ridge will first focus on lighting up Boxes 7 and 8, aiming to start network construction in the spring.
If you live in that area, and would like this new HSIS, go to www.GigUpBlueRidge.com and put in your name and address to get on the list.
County Council:
While most of the funding will come from the federal and state government, I supported and voted for giving Blue Ridge a tax incentive to make it all happen faster for us in Pickens County.
This month the county council voted unanimously to give a $1.6 million tax cut to Blue Ridge in return for a $10 million investment in the project. That is, Blue Ridge's tax assessed ratio was dropped from 10.5% to 6% for the project. With that Blue Ridge will build in the infrastructure to connect all county buildings (administration, fire and EMS stations, airport, public service commission, and recycle centers). Blue Ridge will also do its best to run in-between connections through nearby underserved areas, where HSIS can be offered and local residents can then connect to the network that will be soon running from one county building to the next. The county did an assessment to identify the areas of the county that were most underserved. The path of those boxes is generally where Blue Ridge is moving first.
All is now moving in the right direction on this issue thanks to Blue Ridge Electric, West Carolina Telephone, and the federal, state and county governments.
