Many members are forced to rely on mobile hotspots and/or cell phone data packages on a daily basis instead. Many of its 8,400 members don’t have internet at all, and those lucky few who do have a connection find it slow and unreliable. The benefits to our local economy will be huge, but the biggest impact of all will be on the daily life of our members.”Ĭrenshaw noted that in the EMC’s territory, access to reliable internet has been an ongoing challenge. “Connecting our members to broadband feels the same – what we are doing is so much more than internet. “Back when our cooperative was formed in 1936, this community became a place where the impossible finally became possible,” President and CEO Randy Crenshaw said. The $49 million network is expected to be completed within two to three years, with first customers anticipated to be connected in summer 2022. The co-op is teaming up with Conexon Connect to launch and deploy a 1,900-mile fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network that will reach 100% of the co-op’s members in its eight-county service territory. Little did they know the impact that electricity would have on their lives.Įighty-five years later, the co-op is poised to usher in another new day – one powered by world-class fiber broadband. Members anxiously awaited that single drop cord with a small bulb on the end. It was the beginning of a new day back in 1936 when Irwin EMC brought electricity to the small, rural south Georgia community the cooperative served.

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