In December, Piedmont Electric and RiverStreet Networks announced the launching of an internet service pilot program. The goal of the program is to bring high-speed internet to the unserved and underserved members of our communities. We want to stress that this pilot project is in the infancy stages and certainly must crawl before it can walk and walk before it can run.
We are in the process of gathering information about who is interested in this service through Join.BuildPiedmont.com. On this site, members can express their interest with no money down and no commitment to buy. So far more than 2,400 individuals across our six counties have said they are interested. While this is a fantastic start, we still have a few more phases to go.
Once an area shows enough interest, RiverStreet will begin the process of determining how to deploy internet to those areas. The first step will be developing an engineering plan and seeking grants and loans. The first deployment step is wireless with the ultimate goal of providing fiber to the home. However, this project must be sustainable and some areas may never have enough interest to justify deploying wireless or fiber. We hope to serve everyone but this may not be possible in some areas.
The proverbial journey of a thousand miles begins with but one step, and along with RiverStreet, we are taking that first step. Together we want to ensure that more people in our area have access to the high-speed internet they need.
Let us know you’re interested by visiting Join.BuildPiedmont.com today. Then tell your neighbors, friends, coworkers and family about this pilot program as we want to ensure everyone is connected in this digital age.
