February 29, 2016
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler visited McKee, Ky., on February 8 to highlight Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative’s success in creating a high-speed, fiber optic network in one of the most rugged and economically depressed areas of the country.
“I hope you folks realize what a big deal this is, and what a big deal connecting every home and business to high-speed fiber is,” Wheeler said.
The chairman said he often speaks in other communities around the nation and across the world. “Now, I’m going to be talking about Jackson County in those other places. And I’ll tell them that, ‘If they can do it up in those hollers, you can, too.’”
Fiber technology is shaping the future of rural Kentucky, where high-speed, broadband Internet attracts employers and offers the foundation for tomorrow’s technologies today.
“We helped the people from Washington better understand what it’s like out here in rural America. I think we showed what we can accomplish.”
- PRTC Chief Executive Officer Keith Gabbard
Approximately 90 local and state leaders attended the event. PRTC Chief Executive Officer Keith Gabbard said the day was an opportunity to introduce representatives from Washington, D.C., to the foundation the cooperative built by creating a fiber optic network.
“We helped the people from Washington better understand what it’s like out here in rural America,” Gabbard said. “We’ve got good people here. and it takes everyone working together. I think we showed what we can accomplish.”
The roll out of fiber, led by PRTC and telcos like it across Kentucky, has captured the imagination of government, business and legislative leaders.
Wheeler was joined by U.S. Rep. Hal D. Rogers (R–Ky.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Rogers said high-speed Internet access will provide the necessary infrastructure to open Kentucky to new jobs and industries other than coal. And Kentucky can take advantage of another resource—the skills of the state’s workforce who want to stay in-state for their jobs.
“The work ethic in the hills of Kentucky is unmatched anywhere in the country, and I hear that every day,” Rogers said. “People want to stay at home, so they’ll do you a good job. And the wage scale is very competitive. And if you have a good wage scale and a good talent to pick from, all you need is infrastructure, which is what you have here.”
During the meeting, Rogers presented Gabbard with a first-time Innovative Leadership Award “for his boldness and perseverance to provide broadband access to people living in two of the most rural counties in the country.”
For the cooperative, the path to the future required an investment in technology capable of connecting residents to a world of opportunities. Six years ago, the cooperative accepted the responsibility of building a fiber network throughout the service area.
Today, every home and business in Jackson and Owsley counties has access to one of the fastest Internet connections in the country. With fiber from PRTC, anyone can have the Internet at speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. That’s 100 times faster than the average nationwide Internet speed, and almost 19,000 times faster than the dial-up connections on which residents of some neighboring counties must still rely.
NTCA –The Rural Broadband Association has recognized PRTC as a Smart Rural Community and Gig-Capable Provider.
Written by Jodi Gabbard, PRTC Billing/Marketing Supervisor, and Mark Sulfridge, PRTC Media and Marketing Representative . To learn more about Smart Rural Community, visit www.ntca.org/smart.
