RDOF Wins Boost Tishomingo County Electric’s Broadband Plan

NRTC today released a video featuring Tishomingo County Electric Power Association following its successful entry into the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) reverse auction. The cooperative won more than $10 million in support payable over 10 years. That money will help finance fiber-to-the-will build fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service in Tishomingo County, MS, covering many areas that do not have access to broadband connections.

“We’re going to offer gig-by-gig speed [1 Gbps both downstream and upstream] at a very reasonable price per month. We want this to be an affordable product that’s available to everybody,” said Cody Durham, Tishomingo County’s assistant general manager, in the video.

NRTC agrees with broadband industry figures and members of Congress who have pointed out flaws in the FCC’s RDOF reverse auction process. Those flaws are a barrier to broadband projects in places that need high-speed connections. But in some cases, NRTC assisted cooperatives like Tishomingo County Electric in getting substantial backing for their plans.

“NRTC has exceeded my expectations. I tell people all the time good things about NRTC … how thorough they are, how many resources they have,” Durham said. “These are people that didn’t come on the broadband scene in the last year. They’ve been doing this a long time.”