Cotton Electric Cooperative, Inc.

PROJECT PURPOSE

Cotton Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CEC) is an electric cooperative that serves 23,045 meters along 5,220 miles of line located in Southwest Oklahoma (Caddo, Carter, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Jefferson, Stephens, and Tillman). As such the electric cooperative exists with a purpose of making electric service available to all within its service territory on a not-for-profit basis. Our line density is very low meaning we maintain and operate many miles of line with few services (an average of 4.41 meters per mile). Other providers will not serve all of our membership because of its rural nature. Therefore, in order to bring high-speed internet service to all of our members, grant funding is needed for additional infrastructure.

EVIDENCE

The on-going pandemic gives strong evidence that reliable high-speed internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Every home, business and school in small towns and rural areas should have access to high-speed internet and phone capabilities. Oklahoma has a large digital divide with over 42.22% of its population not having access to broadband. That is almost 1.7 million people. In terms of broadband coverage, Oklahoma ranks 49th out of 50 states only beating Arkansas by a few percentage points. It is estimated that one in four Oklahoman children does not have access to broadband at home. The lack of broadband creates social and economic hardship and drives business away from a community. Given these facts, the importance of building broadband infrastructure in Oklahoma cannot be overstated.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The on-going pandemic gives strong evidence that reliable high-speed internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Every home, business and school in small towns and rural areas should have access to high-speed internet and phone capabilities. Oklahoma has a large digital divide with over 42.22% of its population not having access to broadband. That is almost 1.7 million people. In terms of broadband coverage, Oklahoma ranks 49th out of 50 states only beating Arkansas by a few percentage points. It is estimated that one in four Oklahoman children does not have access to broadband at home. The lack of broadband creates social and economic hardship and drives business away from a community. Given these facts, the importance of building broadband infrastructure in Oklahoma cannot be overstated. The majority of our service territory is either unserved or underserved currently. In order to progress, this must change. Unfortunately, the current providers in our area will not commit to serving everyone and our members are being left behind.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Project performance would be measured by the number of citizens in our service territory that have access to high-speed fiber internet service. The Board of Trustees, along with Cooperative staff, would work hand-in-hand with Conexon, a leader in rural broadband initiatives, throughout the construction and deployment process. We also plan to use their management services once construction is complete.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma