A group of state legislators, employees and board members of Delta Electric Power Association and representatives of the Mississippi Public Service Commission gathered Wednesday to celebrate Delta Fiber LLC’s designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC).
Delta Fiber’s ETC designation was approved and signed by the Mississippi Public Service Commission Tuesday and recognized during a celebration at a Delta Electric warehouse.
The ETC designation allows Delta Fiber, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greenwood-based power cooperative, to receive the nearly $47 million it was awarded in January from the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction program to expand Delta Fiber’s broadband internet service throughout its service territory over 10 years, said David O’Bryan, general manger of Delta Electric.
“We are definitely honored and humbled to receive this ETC designation from the commission,” said O’Bryan, who was surrounded by two of Mississippi’s public service commissioners as well as state legislators who represent areas covered by Delta Electric. “We’re now officially a telecommunications company. It’s a great day; it’s a historic day.”
Those present included Brandon Presley, the Northern District public service commissioner, and Brent Bailey, the Central District public service commissioner.
Also present were state Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood; Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona; Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona; Rep. Otis Anthony, D-Indianola; and Rep. Tracey Rosebud, D-Tutwiler.
“This is over $40 million that Delta Electric is receiving,” Presley said. “The commission has designated them to be a carrier and gave them the final proof to receive these funds. These dollars are an investment in our workers, our families, education, economic development, telehealth and medicine, and, really, the quality of life.”
Delta Fiber is receiving $46.9 million in grant support from the FCC to assist with the expansion of broadband internet service in unserved and underserved rural areas.
The federal agency mandates that Delta Fiber offer broadband internet to FCC-designated areas of Bolivar, Carroll, Grenada, Holmes, Leflore, Montgomery, Sunflower, Tallahatchie and Washington counties within six years.
However, because of the urgency and need for high-speed internet in rural areas — as particularly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic — O’Bryan said Delta Fiber intends to provide broadband internet to the required FCC-mandated areas within five years.
In the remaining years of the project’s 10-year timeline, Delta Fiber will expand its broadband internet service to the rest of Delta Electric’s service area.
The first step in allowing Delta Electric and other rural electric cooperatives throughout the state to provide high-speed internet in addition to electricity began in 2019, when the Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act was signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves.
Last summer, Delta Electric received $4.9 million in grants from the Mississippi Electric Cooperatives Broadband COVID-19 program, which was created by the Legislature in response to the pandemic to assist rural electrical cooperatives expand high-speed internet service across the state.
With the help of that grant, Delta Fiber began to provide broadband internet to customers in Carroll County through the internet provider name DE LightSpeed. Customers have a minimum speed of 100 megabits per second (mbps) and a maximum speed of 1,000 mbps, or one gigabit per second.
From left, state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley and Leflore County Supervisor Sam Abraham speak after a celebration Wednesday at Delta Electric Power Association in Greenwood. (Gerard Edic)
The state legislators present at Wednesday’s celebration had all supported the decision to allow Mississippi rural electric cooperatives to be allowed to provide high-speed internet and expressed excitement for Delta Fiber’s latest plans to continue its expansion of broadband internet in rural areas within their districts.
“The one thing that I think this COVID situation has taught us is that you don’t have to be in a physical place to do your work,” Chassaniol said, “and with the advent of this wonderful project, this broadband project, women who are perfectly capable of excelling in the workplace can do it from home. Children can learn from anywhere.”
Anthony praised the bipartisan effort Mississippi lawmakers had demonstrated in passing legislation to assist rural areas in receiving high-speed internet.
“You all should be proud of your Legislature because we worked together. We’re able to do more together, and I think Washington, D.C., needs to take a note on what we’re doing here in Mississippi, when we take our personal egos out of it and do what’s best for its citizens,” he said.
O’Bryan said that Delta Fiber will voluntarily participate in the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband internet.
Those eligible for the benefit program, in addition to low-income households, include households that have a child attending college on a Pell Grant, people who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and disabled veterans.
Presley also noted that Delta Electric was Mississippi’s first rural electric cooperative in the state to apply to participate in the program.
More information about FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program can be found at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
