What did the GEA board vote on?
The GEA board voted to take the necessary steps for GEA to begin providing broadband services to the central portion of our county effectively defined by the city limits of Greeneville.
When will these services be available?
There is a significant amount of work to be done for GEA to be able to begin offering broadband services and it will likely be towards the end of 2022 before the first customer is served and it will likely be late 2023 before broadband services are available from GEA everywhere within the city limits. Once a timeline is able to be specifically determined, we will make that available to our customers via our website.
What will it cost?
The specific services and associated pricing is still under development and they will be published on the GEA website when they are known. It is our desire and intent to provide a superior product at a very competitive price with excellent customer service. These services will be provided through a fiber optic network that will go all of the way to the point of service.
What about customers that are not within the city limits?
Although the immediate plan is to provide broadband services with the city limits of Greeneville, we will be actively applying for grants to extend GEA broadband services to other parts of Greene County. Most grants specifically target areas that are either unserved or underserved, so those are the areas that are most likely to benefit from these grant opportunities. If we do have some areas that receive grant funding, we plan to leverage that infrastructure to begin providing services to areas that may be in close proximity to the fiber routes to these areas. The timeline for these opportunities will be defined by the specific grant that may apply. Additionally, the GEA board will consider extending beyond the city limits of Greeneville at the appropriate time.
