Photo: North Arkansas Electric Cooperative and NEXT CEO Mel Coleman (from left) is pictured with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, State Senator Missy Irvin (R-18), State Senator Scott Flippo (R-17) and State Representative Nelda Speaks (R-100) at Friday’s announcement in Mountain Home.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson visited Mountain Home Friday afternoon to announce North Arkansas Electric Cooperative’s (NAEC) fiber subsidiary NEXT won $27.5 million in the recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction.
The funds from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase 1 award will help NEXT bring gigabit internet and phone services to more rural areas.
“I like to tell young people in the high-tech world of the 21st Century, they can live anywhere and run the world from their front porch,” Hutchinson said Friday. “With this ongoing expansion of internet and phone services, North Arkansas Electric Cooperative and NEXT are ensuring their customers in unserved areas will have the same opportunities as Arkansans in more populated areas. The cooperative has faithfully pursued the resources to improve life for its customers.”
Mel Coleman, CEO of NAEC and NEXT, says the past year has underscored the need for NAEC members to have access to the economic, educational and recreational benefits high-speed internet allows. Coleman also says the development of delivering internet to customers harkens back to the genesis of electric cooperatives.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has put a tremendous emphasis on the need for broadband internet says Coleman, who also gives the estimated date of completion for the project.
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Thus far, NEXT has reached more than 5,500 subscribers and has a commitment of more than $50 million from the FCC. Coleman describes the benefits of the federal dollars on the project.
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The infrastructure improvements will also be a boon to the area economically, Coleman adds.
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Coleman says the support from Gov. Hutchinson and Sen. John Boozman’s work with the Senate Broadband Caucus has greatly benefited NEXT’s efforts.
“High-speed internet has become a necessity, not a luxury, in order to live, work and learn in the 21st century economy,” Sen. Boozman says. “As a member of the Senate Broadband Caucus, I continue to highlight this reality and advocate policies to expand access to this vital technology, especially in rural areas.”
Across the United States, the RDOF auction will award $9.2 billion to bring high-speed internet to 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses. Arkansas companies will receive more than $424 million to serve more than 200,000 locations.
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