TEC, a provider of fiber internet to rural communities across the Southeast, has completed construction that extends broadband infrastructure within rural Scott County, bringing Fast Fiber Internet to more than 400 businesses and homes in the area.
TEC was one of 386 competing companies in the November 2020, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction, which awarded $9 billion for the provision of broadband internet to unserved and underserved areas throughout the United States. TEC, with the assistance of the FCC, will fund the building and delivery of broadband access to Scott, Copiah, Covington, Jasper, Lawrence, Lincoln, Newton, Rankin, Simpson, and Smith counties
The completed project will expand Fast Fiber Internet access to more than 23,000 families and businesses in rural Mississippi, allowing access to such services as distance education and telemedicine.
“Access to fiber internet is so vitally important to the rural areas of our county and state,” said Scott County Chancery Clerk Lee Anne Palmer. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, our schools had to go virtual, and we have school children who were at a disadvantage due to the lack of access to fast fiber internet. This should not be the case in the 21st century. Economic growth and business creation are absolutely dependent on having access to the internet at speeds comparable to urban areas. Scott County welcomes this improvement of our infrastructure and will benefit greatly from this endeavor.”
TEC’s goal is to bridge the digital divide by providing a reliable, high-speed internet option that positively impacts the communities it serves. With Fast Fiber Internet from TEC, residents can enjoy access to work-from-home opportunities, digital learning, appointments with physicians via telemedicine, and video streaming services.
The current project completed more than 46 miles of fiber infrastructure with Gigabit speeds, home security, and phone services to Morton.
