Gibson Connect History & Progress
Gibson Connect Reached 10,000 Subscribers
Gibson Connect reached a huge milestone when it connected its 10,000th subscriber. Our employees and contractors have built 2,495 miles of fiber to date, and we have about 1,030 miles left to build.
Registrations Reach 7,000
Gadsden Mayor Randy Smith was signup #7,000 at the Gadsden Community Day event.
Gibson Connect Awarded $1.22M
Gibson Connect was awarded a total of $1.22 million distributed over 10 years ($41,000 per year for its Kentucky service area and $81,000 per year for its Tennessee service area) from a Federal Communications Commission Connect American Fund II (CAF II) reverse auction.
Reached 6,000 supporters
Gibson Connect reached 6,000 supporters in just over seven months. This means that 16 percent of eligible Gibson EMC members had signed up for high-speed, fiber-based internet.
Three Way Achieved Zone Goal
Members in Three Way were the third zone to reach 100% of their participation goal.
Gibson Connect To Begin Fiber Buildout
Gibson Connect, LLC, has announced the beginning of the buildout process, where high-speed fiber will be installed in Medina, Dyer, and Three Way, as well in the area covered by the Tennessee broadband grant awarded for most of Lake County and the far northwestern part of Obion County.
Dyer Achieved 100% of Goal
The members of Dyer became the second zone to 100% of their participation goal.
Medina Achieved 100% of Goal
The Medina Zone was the first to reach 100% of the participation goal, a milestone that moved Gibson Connect closer to providing access to high-speed, fiber-based internet service.
$1.35M Grant Awarded to Gibson EMC
Gibson Electric Membership Corporation was awarded a grant for $1,353,148.14 through the Tennessee's Broadband Accessibility Grant Program. Gibson EMC applied for three broadband grants on behalf of its membership and one was awarded. The grant will help Gibson EMC build broadband infrastructure to make high-speed, fiber-based internet service available to parts of Lake and Obion Counties.
Eight Zones at 30% of Goal
With less than one month into registrations, Gibson Connect had eight zones pass 30% of their goal or more.
Supporter Hit 1,000 Mark in First Week
After just one week, our join.gibsonconnect.com supporters hit 1,000.
All Zones Show Participation Levels
We reached our first Gibson Connect milestone when all of our 27 Gibson Connect zones showed participation levels. We launched Gibson Connect at our first Gibson EMC Member Appreciation Event in Trenton.
Participation Model Launched
Gibson Connect launches join.gibsonconnect.com website enabling Gibson EMC members to determine the order of Gibson Connect's build.
Gibson Connect, LLC is formed
The board of trustees voted to form Gibson Connect, LLC as a subsidiary of Gibson EMC.
Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act Passes
The Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act was passed which allowed the state's rural electric cooperatives to provide retail broadband service to members.