Presley addresses broadband expansion
Brandon Presley, public service commissioner for the Northern District, met with the Marshall County Board of Supervisors October 18 to discuss ways to expand broadband Internet service to the underserved or unserved rural areas.
He said the big issue is affecting all counties in his district – lack of access to Internet service to businesses and homes.
“Internet service is as necessary as electricity and water,” he said.
A unique problem hindering expansion in some counties is lack of legislation that would allow municipalities that own electric utilities to provide broadband over the power lines as does cooperatives like Northcentral Electric Power and North East Electric Power Association.
It would take time to seek legislation for cities to be able to provide broadband, and time is of the essence.
Presley said partnerships and collaboration to obtain dollars from the American Rescue Plan begs timing to go to the legislature.
But collaboration with Northcentral and North East electric power providers and other partners will advance the plan for expansion of broadband once those power distributors finish building out their broadband infrastructure within their service boundaries, he said.
“If the City of Holly Springs could participate, they’ve got the poles,” Presley said.
He said New Albany and CenturyLink may be interested parties.
“I think we’ve got some tools in the tool box, but Marshall, Benton and Chickasaw counties cannot provide broadband,” he said.
Leadership in the Mississippi Legislature could be asked to change the statue. There is a pot of about $1.9 billion in the state coffers that could help with building out infrastructure, but the problem cannot be solved with a onetrack approach, Presley said.
“We have to have two paths. HSUD can be consulted,” the commissioner said.
Two approaches stand out if Mississippi law is not changed to allow its cities to provide broadband, he said.
One would be to get Northcentral and North East to determine which areas of the county are eligible for broadband expansion and eligibility for use of American Rescue Plan money. Northcentral will want to connect customers first, he said.
Approaching CenturyLink would also add strength to the expansion plan.
The second approach involves seeking a way to comply with state law and see how counties and the state can dedicate money for expansion of infrastructure.
Derrick Surrette, executive director for the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, could have some ideas on how to do that, he said.
There is an additional $166 million coming under the American Rescue Plan to fund capital projects, Presley said. He offered to advocate very hard to get that money highly focused on broadband access going forward.
A big constriction is how to get the money already available in the state’s share out the door, he said.
The rules of how the money can be spent keeps changing, Presley said.
In other words, rules of use are an ever evolving and moving target.
Presley said his office will focus the next 60 days on how expansion of the infrastructure can be done in Marshall County.
Questions of which partners are willing to step up to the plate and what areas in the county would be easiest to expand service the fastest to offer affordable internet should be asked.
“This is an economic recruitment issue,” Presley said, emphasizing the importance of broadband to continue to attract industrial partners to the area.
District 5 supervisor Ronnie Joe Bennett said North East has gotten most of its SPARC infrastructure done in Marshall County.
“If that’s the case, it will be the best chance to expand,” Presley said. “They could provide it to this boardroom if you wanted it.”
District 4 supervisor George Zinn III asked Presley if the county does not get a local and private bill through the legislature, would money be restricted from the American Rescue Plan money.
“No,” Presley said. “You could use your money from the American Rescue Plan the way you want to. A key point is the legislature is just as restricted on how to spend that money as you are. From my perspective, they don’t have any more leeway.
“I don’t think finding a fund to fix our problem is the problem. The issue won’t be lack of funds. The issue is getting the funds out the door.”
District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor insisted the school system and the municipalities be included in the discussions. He wondered how the project would be bid out, if funded.
“It has to follow the state procurement process the same way as buying a load of gravel,” Presley said. “The bid law is a hindrance. It’s not a franchise issue. They are free to run broadband wherever they want to.”
District 1 supervisor Charles Terry wondered if it would help to get a petition signed in the various districts to know how many potential customers are in an area.
“The key is to determine what areas are not served,” Presley said. “I don’t trust the maps out there. What maps will show is lots of problems. Carriers and telecom companies will overstate their coverage (customers served).”
Presley said he thinks knowing the public interest and public participation of citizens is the key to knowing which roads are served and not served.
“Nobody wants to spend $25,000 a mile and have no customers sign up,” the commissioner said. “Galvanizing the county is the key to show need from a grassroots level. We ought to have every house at the end of the last dirt road to have service.”
The board passed a motion made by Terry to move forward on developing plans for partnerships.