Electric cooperative partnership bringing internet to underserved areas of Anderson County

Jeff Wilson, president and CEO of West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative, said a conversation at a legislative reception in 2020 with Jim Lovinggood of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative sparked the idea of providing internet services to rural areas in Anderson County.

During their conversation, they discovered that electric cooperative companies were getting into the Internet business because major Internet companies were not providing services in rural areas.

Wilson and Lovinggood saw this as an opportunity to partner together to provide internet service to rural areas in Anderson County.

West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative has provided an all-fiber optic network to Abbeville County, McCormick County, Iva, and Starr since 2011, according to Wilson.

In March 2021, they connected their first customer through the new Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative partnership. "Serving nearly 13,000 residents in underserved areas of Anderson County," Wilson said.

It has been almost three years since the two companies joined forces, and now they are planning to extend their service area by partnering with WCFIBER, a subsidiary of West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative (WCTEL), and Upcountry Fiber, a partnership between Blue Ridge Electric Co-op (BREC) and WCFIBER.

"Utility cooperatives like ours have a long history of serving our neighbors in traditionally underserved areas," said Lovinggood in a press release.

Nearly 3,000 Anderson County addresses currently need access to broadband internet services included in the grant, according to the South Carolina Broadband Office.

Wilson mentioned they would serve parts of several areas in the Upstate region, including Belton, Honea Path, Fort Roberts, Homeland Park, Williamston, Piercetown, Sandy Springs, La France, and Broadway.

Grant to help bring internet to underserved areas

The $32 million federal grant from the South Carolina broadband office, WCFIBER, and Upcountry Fiber will help bring high-speed internet access to more than 10,000 homes and businesses in the area.

"We are so thankful to Jim Stritzinger and his team in the South Carolina Broadband Office for awarding us this grant so that more citizens of Anderson County have access to this necessary utility," said Anderson County Council Chair Tommy Dunn in a press release.

West Carolina Telephone Cooperative and Blue Ridge Electrical Cooperative will invest $10 million to serve an additional 10,000 addresses.

"This grant not only benefits people in their homes but also allows them access to better healthcare, education, and job opportunities, which helps to build a better, more competitive community for everyone," Lovingood said.

Construction begins, workers needed

Construction has already begun, and the project is expected to be completed by 2025.

A project of this magnitude also increases employment opportunities for residents around the area.

The immediate need is for construction workers, engineers, linemen, cable slicers, installers, and technicians, Wilson said.

"Last fall, over 600 people worked on these projects between our work in Anderson County and the surrounding counties," he said.

Upon completion of construction, which is mainly funded by this grant, WCFIBER and Upcountry Fiber will have invested approximately $76 million in broadband to previously underserved areas of Anderson County since 2021.

Also, upon completion of construction, approximately 1,155.8 miles of fiber will have been constructed to pass nearly 19,000 eligible residential addresses since 2021.

Addresses included in the South Carolina Broadband Office grant and an additional 10,000 addresses surrounding them will be able to sign up for broadband internet service through WCFIBER or Upcountry Fiber, depending on their location.

West Carolina Telephone Cooperative has served parts of the Starr-Iva communities of Anderson County with fiber internet services for more than 15 years and with telecommunications services since the cooperative was founded more than 70 years ago.

"Communities are falling behind without access to high-speed and reliable internet," Wilson said.

"With it, the Upstate's rural communities have a better chance to become stronger by having a more attractive economic development story, easier access to information for students to learn, educators to teach, and for our neighbors to be better able to apply for jobs, have better access to healthcare by being able to meet with their doctors, if needed virtually."

Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@gannett.com.

e officer of BREC. “Without access to high-speed, reliable internet, communities are losing ground.

With it, the Upstate’s rural communities have a better chance to become stronger by having a more attractive economic development story, easier access to information for students to learn, educators to teach, and for our neighbors to be better able to apply for jobs, have better access to healthcare by being able to meet with their doctors, if needed virtually. Entertainment options are a bonus.”

Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Anderson County underserved areas to finally get high-speed internet