In the center of Tennessee sits Murfeesboro, the fastest growing city in the state with 108,000 people and one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. (Just 10 years ago there were only 68,000 residents.) Murfeesboro is also one of the next communities to show an interest in a publicly owned fiber network to improve connectivity.
In an August press release [PDF], Murfeesboro Electric Department (MED) described their existing 19-mile fiber infrastructure, used for communication and control purposes for the electricity distribution system. The fiber was deployed in 2008, says MED General Manager Steve Sax, and the utility is now making plans to use spare fibers for Internet connectivity. MED is in the process of expanding its network by an additional 20 miles.
Sax also stated that MED is working with Middle Tennessee State University to develop a fiber optics pilot project but did not offer details other than it is “very similar to what Google is doing in Nashville.”
MED and the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Cooperative (MTEMC) recently entered into negotiations for MTEMC to acquire the MED. The city of Murfeesboro is in the center of the MTEMC service area and the two have been duplicating efforts in some areas. The city and cooperative signed a memo of understanding in June and the process is moving forward slowly. MTEMC serves over 200,000 cooperative members in a four county service territory; the MED provides electricity to approximately 56,000 customers.
MTEMC does not offer telecommunications services at this time but according to a Daily News Journal article, the cooperative is investing in fiber:
“We have been working with an enterprise … on a fiber network,” said [Brad Gibson, MTEMC chief business officer] about the utility that covers Rutherford, Wilson, Williamson and Cannon counties.
MTEMC has contracted with a private company to install and manage its fiber network but the utility is also researching the possibility of developing its own network, he said.
“We are dedicated to fiber,” Gibson said.
The ownership of the public electric utility notwithstanding, leadership at the utility understand the impact today’s investment will have on Murfeesboro’s future. From the press release:
“Back when MED was founded, electricity was the crucial piece of infrastructure that our grandparents and great-grandparents worked to extend throughout the city,” [Sax] says. “Now it’s our turn. Broadband Internet is every bit as essential to keeping Murfreesboro competitive now as electricity was then. We welcome the opportunity to work with the city to continue enhancing the quality of life for our citizens.”
This article is apart of MuniNetworks. The original piece can be found here
