Organization Aims to Bring Community-Owned Rural Broadband Internet to Sevier County

The Southern Connected Communities Project is holding a public meeting to discuss building a community-owned rural broadband internet network in Sevier County.

The Southern Connected Communities Project, a project of the Sustainable and Equitable Agricultural Development Task Force, is working to bring locally-owned internet access to rural Sevier County communities.

“Rural Sevier County is being left behind by internet providers,” the organizer said. “The tourist hubs are well-connected and Cocke County is getting public internet to every home – but in between, there’s a big access gap. Together, we can change that.”

The Rural Broadband Meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 in the Bridgemont Room of the King Family Library, 408 High Street in Sevierville.

“In 2018, rural communities need internet too! Whether for school, working from home, healthcare, or safety, it’s time for us to be connected,” says the organization. “But to do that, we need your input! Come out and share what you think a local internet provider in Sevier County could look like. Unlike big-box telecoms, we believe that everyone has a right to internet, just like electricity – and should decide how that service is run.”

How Rural Broadband Works

The organization says their project is a model of what a community-controlled broadband internet service provider could be in rural Appalachia and the South. They built a working line-of-sight broadband tower at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tenn. that will deliver 1 Gbps speeds wirelessly to anyone in a 25-mile radius. A further two additional towers will connect communities in Cosby and the Clearfork Valley. These communities will establish member-owned cooperative franchise networks and community members will be trained in connecting and maintaining their own wireless networks. Sevier County could be next.

“This project will empower and inspire communities by proving that it is indeed very possible for them to have affordable, equitable, and reliable broadband access; and that they can even be their own internet service providers!” the organization says.