PAULDING, OH — On July 18, 2024, the Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees unanimously voted to provide fiber internet as a new service offered by the co-op. This decision came after conducting several feasibility studies earlier this year. The board’s goal is to provide high-speed, reliable internet to the co-op’s electric membership via fiber-to-the-home.
“Our goal will be to build and operate this new business just as we’ve operated the electric side: with our members and community first in mind,” said PPEC President and CEO Randy Price. “We will combine and leverage the electric plant’s benefits and infrastructure we’ve built over the last 89 years with the data transmitted through fiber to better serve you, our members, and future generations.”
Why is the co-op undertaking this effort?
In November 1935, PPEC — a not-for-profit, local cooperative — was created by its members to provide life-changing electricity to their farms and homes. Back then, the co-op powered rural areas where other big companies said it wasn’t profitable; PPEC met a need when no one else would.
Today, the problem is modern connectivity: work, video streaming, gaming, home devices, and nearly every aspect of life in this digital age requires quality internet. Data gathered from the co-op’s feasibility studies show that nearly 70% of PPEC’s membership (especially those in rural areas) is unserved or underserved when it comes to high-speed, reliable internet. PPEC believes quality internet should not be a luxury available only to those in cities.
Just as it did in the 1930s, the co-op today strives to improve its members’ quality of life by providing a crucial service. According to PPEC, co-op leadership see the need and are stepping up to fill it.
“As a utility, we experience daily frustrations due to a lack of connectivity,” Price said. “Without reliable and affordable broadband, everyone’s quality of life is impacted.”
“Concern for Community” is one of PPEC’s Seven Cooperative Principles and the lifeblood behind this decision. Providing high-speed, reliable fiber internet will support economic development efforts locally, lead to higher rates of new business formation, allow for improved remote healthcare, and increase job opportunities for area residents, especially for increasingly popular remote work. When the community prospers, the co-op wins.
Residential and commercial members who are currently unserved or underserved, and who express interest will be the priority for connection. PPEC has nearly 14,000 members across seven counties in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana — and growing. Progress will be determined by the amount of member interest in an area.
If the co-op determines it is financially feasible, it may add non-member communities in need outside of the PPEC territory.
Fiber is considered the “gold standard” of broadband connections. The term fiber-optic internet, or just “fiber,” refers to bringing internet service to your home or business through ultra-thin strands of glass fibers bundled inside an insulated casing. The fibers transmit data using light pulses instead of electric currents. Unlike the copper wire of phone or cable connections, or the wireless signals of satellite connections, the data transmitted over fiber-optic cables is coming to you at the speed of light! PPEC plans to provide speeds of up to 1 gigabit.
Planning, design, and engineering will take place over the next year. By fall 2025, the first member should have internet service from PPEC. The co-op aims to complete its member system by 2028. If PPEC serves non-member communities, the build may take as long as five years (through 2030). Other unforeseen factors may affect these plans, but the co-op will keep the public informed throughout the process via its website, magazines, email newsletters, and social media.
The internet and electric sides of the business will remain separate. Electric members will not see their rates increase due to the fiber internet efforts. However, all members will see the benefit of connecting our substations using fiber technology. This will allow PPEC to detect and restore power outages more quickly and provide more accurate data to the membership with improved communication between equipment. All members will benefit from a smarter, stronger, more connected electric grid.
Watch PPEC’s fiber updates webpage, www.ppec.coop/fiberupdates, for more information coming soon. Pre-registration will be available this fall.
Those with questions can call the co-op at 800-686-2357 or email fiber@ppec.coop.
“The Paulding Putnam Electric Board of Trustees and staff are driven daily to be member—and community–focused,” Price said. “We are visionary and use every experience to learn, improve what we do for you, and invest in your future. We look forward to serving you in this new capacity.”
