Mississippi’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, wants to permit electric cooperatives to offer broadband to its customers. PSC Commissioner Presley, along with 48 lawmakers and representatives of more than a dozen Mississippi electric cooperatives, recently traveled to Alabama to visit Tombigbee Electric Cooperative to learn about the utility’s work in providing broadband service.
According to Presley, “Fourteen miles east of the Mississippi line, some of the fastest internet speeds in the US at some of the cheapest prices are being offered, in some of the most rural parts of Alabama. If they can do it in Alabama, we can do it in Mississippi.” Tombigbee CEO Foshee said the cooperative began offering broadband because large private providers shy away from the most rural areas. But with federal funding, Commissioner Presley believes the rural areas of Mississippi would benefit when electric cooperatives provide broadband.