4-County reaches two year milestone providing FASTnet service

GOLDEN TRIANGLE (WCBI) – For more than 80 years, 4-County Electric Power Association has empowered the lives of people in Northeast Mississippi.

Fast forward eight decades and they continue to provide quality service, electricity and from two years ago internet service.

Two years ago, 4-County recognized the need rural Mississippians had for affordable and quality Internet service.

After much research and prayer, they began building for FASTnet in October 2020.

Less than six months later, they signed up their very first customers in Clay County.

CEO Brian Clark said the journey to be an electric company that provides internet service.

“Fast forward two years later, we have approximately 8,500 customers. We’ll hit 10,000 in a few months I think and we’re growing fast. You know, looking back, we prayed to God to open and close doors along our path and he did, and no better time to come in here than the pandemic,” Clark said.

With a broadband future ahead, 4-County saw that now was the time to be proactive.

A time to teach people what it means to be connected.

“We are their trusted energy supplier and are trying to bring the same mindset to the internet side. We want people to not only use or buy our product because we need them to buy it for it to work, but we want it to be a positive experience,” Turner said.

FASTnet coverage map – February 2021

Maps show FASTnet’s growth over the past two years. Each dot on the map represents a new customer.

That first little dot was the first FASTnet customers, Roy and Mary Shannon.

“We were excited about it because we weren’t happy at all with the service we had and in this area anyway it’s very limited on what you can get, so we were excited about it and signed up anyway,” said Mary Shannon.

The Shannons agree that while the quality of FASTnet is incredible, what makes their service even better is 4-County’s staff.

“They are good people to work with and good people to do business with and we are completely satisfied,” said Roy Shannon.

For those like Harold Critcher, seeing the difference they make is what keeps him going.

“Just to get the smiles when you go out there to the campground or out in the woods somewhere and they have better internet or somewhere just as good in downtown Starkville or Columbus. Yeah, that’s what we’re about,” Critcher said.

At the moment, the FASTnet progress is ahead of schedule.

4-County plans to provide internet to all of its service areas by 2024.

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