Full Speed Ahead

Full Speed Ahead

Connecting the Pocahontas community

BY LISA SAVAGE

Students who need to connect to the internet for homework and people who work from home are taking advantage of the high-speed connection at the Pocahontas Technology & Community Center.

The center opened late last year as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service grant to provide much-needed infrastructure or improvements for broadband service in rural communities where fast internet access did not exist.

The infrastructure project will make available fiber optic cable and the installation of electronic equipment to about 180 potential customers and broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps. While all residents in the community should have access to a connection in the next few months, the weather has caused a few delays, says Lisa Cope, general manager and CEO at Ben Lomand Connect.

PROVIDING A RESOURCE

In the meantime, the center, which is equipped with computers and printers, will be open for two years for all residents desiring to utilize the facility, Cope says. “We’ve had several people already using the center,” she says.

A security system through Ben Lomand Connect’s automated technology locks and unlocks the doors. Cameras monitor inside the building and the surrounding area.

The center is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Wi-Fi is turned on from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and anyone who needs to access it can do so from the driveway after hours.

“Having the fiber internet at the community center allows our customers to use the service while we continue to complete the fiber installation to all the homes,” Cope says. Some of the areas include Espy, Lumley Stand and Gnat Hill roads, west of Tennessee Highway 53. After the current grant’s work is complete, service will extend to Pocahontas Road east of Highway 53 thanks to money from a Tennessee Economic Development Broadband Accessibility Grant.

Employees, officials and community members attend a ribbon cutting for the Pocahontas Technology & Community Center in December.

Ben Lomand Connect CEO Lisa Cope speaks during the ribbon cutting for the Pocahontas Technology & Community Center.

A BETTER SOLUTION

The high-speed service is already installed at some homes, Cope says. Previously, slower, satellite-based internet service was the area’s only option.

The home of Jesse Bray, a longtime resident of the Pocahontas community, is one of the first connected to the new network. He uses the internet for day-to-day activities, and he’s already bought a couple of smart TVs to take advantage of streaming shows and movies.

“The speed is such a big thing in today’s world, you just about have to have it,” Bray says. “We were glad to get it. It has helped us tremendously.”

The team at Ben Lomand, from board members to employees, worked with the community to identify and develop strategic goals based on needs, says Roger Bynum, a member of the board of directors representing Coffee County.

Joe Roper, a member of the board of directors also representing Coffee County, says the grant would not have been possible without the community support. “Members completed surveys and wrote support letters that so clearly described their need for connectivity in these remote areas of Coffee County,” Roper says.

Resident Don Bell says he, Bray and others in the community have worked for years to bring attention to the need for highspeed internet. “It’s wonderful,” Bell says. “We are tickled to death to get it.”

The Pocahontas Technology & Community Center is located at 2829 Gnat Hill Road, Manchester.