An Open Letter: The Truth about Fiber in Hardeman County
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An Open Letter to Crossroads Internet Customers and the Public:
It is no secret that two local electric departments (Tippah Electric and Bolivar Energy Authority) have been granted millions of dollars to build a fiber-to-the-home-network in Hardeman County. Bolivar Energy Authority (BEA) is slated to receive ~$20,000,000 in grants from the State of Tennessee and will build over our entire network.
In the main, we are happy for our county; it is long overdue. However, we are not so happy as a small business trying to compete with monopolistic utility companies that are getting all the funding to build fiber networks. Moreover, we are certainly unhappy with the state and federal government picking winners and losers.
We don’t want to sound like a petulant or selfish children, but we do want to lay out some facts of which you may or may not be aware.
First, we have studied hard, paid consultants, and looked at every possible avenue for Crossroads to get into the fiber business. Much of this was done about eight to nine years ago, after we first started the wireless business. We knew this day would come, although no county leaders gave us the time of day back then. They could not see the future, and it has taken a pandemic to prove the need to them.
There was just no way for Crossroads to make a private business case for a fiber build, due to required, exorbitant, capital expenditures to build a fiber broadband network. Hardeman County has an average of only about six houses per linear mile. The cost to build an aerial-fiber, outside plant is north of $40,000 per mile, and it is about $65,000 per mile to bury the cable (which is a far better option).
Second, we understand we will probably lose some of you as customers. That’s okay. We believe in the freedom of individuals to choose for themselves what products or services they want.
Third, we wanted you to know exactly who the stakeholders are. It not only is BEA and Aeneas Internet Service out of Jackson, Tennessee, but you should also know that Aeneas Internet is owned by another utility company: Southwest Electric, based out of Haywood County.
Thus, in addition to the government favoring the monopolistic utility companies, your money will be going to two utility companies, if that is the direction upon which you decide for your Internet service.
Consequently, two alien (non-local entities) Aeneas and Southwest Electric, are getting the money to build right over the top of a small, local, family-owned business that currently employees four people.
Over the last 11 years, this family has invested north of $1.5 million into providing Internet for our community. Yet, neither BEA, Aeneas, Southwest Electric, nor any political official has bothered to act on our company’s behalf as a potential player in this fiber build-out.
It would be very easy to spin up a fiber team and deploy fiber as a partner with BEA/Aeneas. We have had two conversations with Aeneas/Southwest Electric along those lines, but to no avail.
As a matter of fact, Tony Kirk (CEO of BEA) told us on at least three occasions that BEA was NOT going into the fiber to the home business. Why not? It was for the exact same reason Crossroads never has deployed fiber. One simply cannot make a business case for it. It takes free, government money (and lots of it) to build a fiber optic network in a rural, low-density, “high-cost” area like Hardeman County.
Again, at the risk of sounding selfish, this does not seem right for stakeholders – with the power to do something differently – simply to ignore and build over a small, local, family-owned business.
Here is the upshot: at least four people will lose their jobs, and you may lose your Internet, until they get to you, not to mention the losses of Crossroads’ recent upgrade investments.
Nonetheless, we continue to invest thousands of dollars weekly in labor and materials to make our company better. But the cavalry may have come too late. That will largely be up to you and your choice for an Internet provider.
Here is the real dilemma. At what point do we shut the doors, turn off whoever is left with Internet, and tell them to wait for fiber? Do we shut down when 25 percent of you leave, 50 percent, or 75 percent? That still leaves a lot of families without an Internet connection. Shutting down and leaving anybody with some connectivity seems unfair at best and wrong at worst. That isn’t why we do this!
This is the harsh reality that keeps us awake at night. If we had to close Crossroads’ doors, due to being overbuilt by the big boys, how do we do that and remain an honorable member of this community where our family has been for four generations? How do we do right by you, some of whom have been customers for over 10 years? This is the hard problem!
Finally, what can you do?
1. If we meet your needs, then we’d be grateful for your continued loyalty.
2. If we are not meeting your needs, then please let us know. Call the office at (731)-472-2012.
3. Consider upgrading to the next package. In most cases, that’s only $20 more per month. If enough of you do that, it will help!
4. Call BEA and contact your state legislators and let them know this doesn’t seem quite fair for the government to pick the winners and losers, moreover, for leaders to bring in two alien companies from other counties, and simply ignore the part Crossroads could play.
5. Understand this: installing and managing a fiber network is far easier than what we currently do wirelessly over several hundred square miles. We could do fiber too, given the resources and the opportunities.
6. If you are not, nor ever will be satisfied with Crossroads, and you choose to go with another provider, we hope we can remain friends and good partners in our community.
7. Don’t be fooled by the hundreds of megabyte or gigabyte talk. No household will use that much speed!
8. We are all ears, if you have any ideas whatsoever!
We apologize for the length, but we felt you deserved to know.
Thank you for being our customer. It truly is a pleasure to serve you! We are going to fight as long as we possibly can to save our business and YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION!
Respectfully,
The Crossroads Team
P.S. There is a lot more to this story. If you have specific questions, reach out to us.
P.S.S. Your State Legislators and other stakeholders’ contact information is below.
Representative Johnny Shaw
P.O. Box 191
Bolivar, Tennessee 38008
Telephone: (731) 658-3408
E-mail: Johnny.shaw@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Page Wally
814 Shelby Lane
Bolivar, Tennessee 38008
Telephone: (615) 741-2386
E-mail: sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov
Representative Ron M. Gant
P.O. Box 491
Rossville, Tennessee 38006
Telephone: (615) 741-6890
E-mail: rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov
Tony Kirk, CEO
Bolivar Energy Authority
815 Tennessee Street
Bolivar, Tennessee 38008
Telephone: (731) 658-5257
E-mail: tonyk@bea-tn.com
Stephen Thorpe, CEO
Aeneas Internet
300 N Cumberland Street #200
Jackson, Tennessee 38301
Telephone: (731) 554-9200
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