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DMEA Board of Directors Votes to Move Forward as Broadband Service Provider

December 30th, 2015

Filed under Community, Crawford, Featured, Hotchkiss, News, Paonia

Electric pole - A Hotchkiss-BWDMEA Board of Directors Votes to Move Forward as Broadband Service Provider

(Press Release)

Yesterday, (December 29) the Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) Board of Directors voted unanimously to proceed with a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) business in order to bring reliable broadband internet service to the citizens and businesses in Montrose and Delta counties. The DMEA board approved a phased deployment, which will begin with an initial pilot phase. Work on the development of the pilot phase begins immediately. This first phase is an important milestone for the cooperative, and will be used to prove the business model and test assumptions, such as take-rate.

“We have an obligation to protect the financial and operational integrity of the cooperative for our members. Using a phased approach will allow us to minimize our risk by only building each phase once we have met specific take-rates,” said DMEA CEO, Jasen Bronec.

After hearing of requests by local citizens to find a solution for the poor internet service in the area, DMEA’s board of directors began researching options. Recognizing that reliable high-speed internet service is now paramount to advancing economic development and quality of life, just as electricity was in the 1930’s, the cooperative has been conducting in-depth research on broadband business models and case studies since late 2014. “Because we were already deploying fiber-optic infrastructure for internal purposes, it made sense for us to explore the opportunity of expanding broadband services to our membership,” said DMEA President, Bill Patterson.

“Since my arrival at DMEA, I can’t remember a time when broadband internet wasn’t on the minds of our members. Our communities are underserved and looking for help. It’s a story not unfamiliar to co-ops. Co-op’s were instrumental in lighting up rural America once. Now we’re doing it again,” said DMEA CEO, Jasen Bronec.

“This is a momentous decision for DMEA members, employees, and communities. We are only at the beginning and have a lot of planning and work to accomplish before all of our members have access to our fiber. We ask that our members are patient with the process and support our efforts as we enter this new business,” concludes Patterson.

DMEA is a rural electric distribution cooperative, located in Montrose, Colorado.  DMEA was originally founded in 1938, as Delta-Montrose Rural Power Lines Association. A board of directors from nine districts covering three counties governs the cooperative.  DMEA serves approximately 32,000 residential, commercial and industrial meters, on over 3,000 miles of cooperative owned distribution line.

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