Lee Buchanan
editor@thefranklinpress.com
Macon County has issued a request for proposal to bring broadband to unserved and underserved areas of the county.
County manager Derek Roland said he hopes the RFP could be a major step toward bringing Macon County up to speed.
“I think prospects are pretty good,” Roland said. “This is something we’ve put a lot of time and effort and literally years into, and I think we’re about to start, with this RFP, that we’re about to start reaping the benefits of those efforts.”
The areas targeted for broadband expansion are Addington Mill, Riverside, McDonald Mill, Otto, Norton, Mulberry, Tessentee and Scaly Mountain.
The county is prepared to offer partial grant funding of up to $580,000 of the total cost.
“The $580,000 would come from within the general fund,” Roland said. “We had $400,000 in the budget already in this fiscal year for broadband expenditures.”
Roland said the project would be coordinated with other broadband efforts already underway.
“It kind of all dovetails together,” Roland said. “It’s a multifaceted approach which we hope will bring some results.”
Factors that will be used to evaluate proposals will include the added availability/potential number of unserved customers offered services during the first three years; and the overall dollar investment share proposed by the provider.
The company would be required to provide services for at least 20 years.
Roland hopes the RFP will be a major step to providing broadband coverage to most of the county’s residents and businesses.
At its most recent meeting, the Macon County Planning Board recommended to county commissioners to make the approval of wireless communications towers an administrative review process. That process would not require a public hearing.
Roland said that other projects, including storage facilities, concrete plants and hot farms, are not required to have public hearings as long as they meet the requirements of the high-impact land use ordinance.
The need for broadband is more urgent that ever, Roland said.
“It couldn’t happen at a better time, with the dependency we’re going to have on virtual learning,” he said.
Macon County commissioner Gary Shields agreed.
“This has been like pushing a wet noodle – it’s difficult,” he said. “I don’t think it’s been for anyone’s lack of trying, but understand, when the pandemic came in, light bulbs went off everywhere. Virtual learning is here and it’s important.”
Roland said the RFP follows the state statue.
“It’s clear-cut in the general statute that this is the way the process has to go,” he said.
Broadband is defined by the FCC as a minimum of 25 Mpbs download speed and 3 Mbps upload.
The deadlines for issuing and responding to the RFP have not been set.