[ November 01, 2020 ] With the passage of rural broadband legislation in 2019, Georgia Senate Bill 2 cleared the way for electric coop-eratives in the state, like Amicalola EMC, to contribute to the expansion of broadband. Providing broadband to rural north Georgians has been a priority of ETC?s for many years, but many challenges exist in making the availability of broadband service a reality in rural areas. Amicalola EMC and ETC have joined forces and are pleased to announce a partnership to bring greater access to broadband to the area served by both providers.

The partnership will give Amicalola EMC improved communications between facilities such as substations and automated distribution equipment and will improve reliability to the consumers served by them. ETC saw the opportuni-ty as a great chance to expand their already substantial footprint for broadband service into new areas. This project will include portions of Cherokee, Dawson, Gilmer, Lumpkin and Pickens counties.

"ETC could not have a better partner who understands the needs of communities and the critical importance of fast and reliable broadband than in AEMC. We have joined forces before and are excited to see the positive impact our partnership will create. We encourage residents in these counties who have an interest in internet services to visit www.ETCFiber.com, an interactive website which allows consumers to register their interest." states Jason Smith, COO of ETC.

Todd Payne, President & CEO of Amicalola EMC says, "It is a win-win for our members. We know that a lack of adequate internet access places a hardship on rural areas. We are excited about working with ETC to help bridge that broadband divide, while at the same time improving reliability to our members. We?ve worked on joint projects for many years and we are happy to partner once again with a trusted and reliable provider like ETC."