CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) held a public meeting today, August 27, at The Tennessee College of Applied Technology to discuss their new high speed, fiber internet service, Cumberland Connect. The ambitious new project will bring high speed service to many CEMC members who do not currently have access to reliable internet.
Joe Pitts and Jim Durrett, city and county mayors respectively, were in attendance for the meeting, as were members of CDE Lightband’s leadership.
According to Engineering Division Manager Mark T. Cook, completion of the project will take five to six years and will be rolled out in phases. The first phase, which will begin before the end of the year will target nine substations in areas with the highest need. Affected areas in Montgomery County include those covered by the Lone Oak, Kirkwood, Spring Creek and St. Bethlehem substations.
CEMC officials assured the crowd that if they received an email inviting them to the meeting, then their residence was most likely a part of Phase One.
When asked about pricing, Cook told attendees that, while speeds and prices were still being discussed, a service of approximately 100 mbps would be less than $50 and gigabyte speeds would not exceed $80. He further assured customers those would not be new customer promotional prices, as is the practice of many internet service providers.
Cook further added that service would include unlimited data usage with no caps or throttling of speeds, a remark which drew cheers from the crowd.
Cumberland Connect will also offer phone and television services. Cook told members that television would most likely involve streaming and will incorporate a cloud based DVR service.
Speakers went on to say that the project is still evolving as future phases are planned and features are considered. One such feature discussed was an interactive map showing which phase residences are part of.
Those who wish to learn more about Cumberland Connect can call CEMC directly at 1-800-987-2362, email them at info@cumberlandconnect.org, or visit them at their website.