Blue Ridge Mountain EMC Transforms Broadband Have-Nots Into Broadband Haves

Electric cooperatives have given hope to the rural broadband market, and Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation (BRMEMC), in the broadband industry for more than 17 years, has earned the right to call itself a pioneer in that emerging space. Several electric co-ops in the Southeast have contacted BRMEMC for advice about how to deploy a broadband network. BRMEMC, founded in 1938, is a member-owned electric cooperative headquartered in Young Harris, Georgia, serving more than 53,000 member-customers. The provider currently offers electric and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services to Fannin, Towns and Union counties in northern Georgia and in Clay and Cherokee counties in western North Carolina. BRMEMC’s broadband journey is far from typical. Unlike other co-ops that installed fiber to satisfy supervisory control and data acquisition requirements for the electric grid, BRMEMC’s broadband move was based on a simple principle: supply service in places that have none.