On Monday, September 27th, Tri-CoGo, Tri-County EMC’s internet subsidiary, installed service to its 100th customer. “It’s an incredible milestone for us, and it couldn’t have happened without a combined team effort from our employees and contractors,” says Greg Mullis, chief operating officer of Tri-CoGo, “We are extremely proud of how far we have come in just over three months of fiber construction. And the response from our customers has been nothing short of tremendous”.

Gary Thomas, Tri-CoGo’s 100th connected customer and a long-time resident of Jones County, is thrilled to have finally received his gig-speed service to finally be able to stream television content. "I am glad to now have service from Tri-CoGo. We have been waiting for this for a long time. We love local and prefer it in anything. Support people who support you.",” says Thomas. “I’m also glad to now be able to stream television content. We’ve had bundled service from our previous provider that just kept going up. I can stream what I want and save money now that I have fast internet.”

Tri-CoGo continues to grow as the team onboards new customers and the EMC builds out fiber to the rest of the Tri-County EMC service area in Jones County. Next in line, Zone 2 is slated to receive service in October.

In the recent past, reliable high-speed internet service seemed very far out of reach for rural Georgia. In 2019, Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 2 into action, giving electric membership cooperatives the authority to provide broadband internet service to homes and businesses across the state. Tri-County EMC is one of nineteen co-ops in Georgia participating in the rural broadband initiative. With the assistance of Conexon, a rural fiber engineering consultant, Tri-CoGo has made great strides toward its goal of building out a 1,600-mile fiber network in just two years.

As of August 31st, Tri-County EMC members in Zone 1 became eligible for the long-awaited fiber internet service, just three short months after construction began in late May. As of late September, crews have installed over 130 miles of fiber. Different than traditional copper lines, fiber is more reliable and delivers internet at much quicker speeds. Each newly opened zone will bring internet, and soon Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone service, to hundreds of new customers. Tri-CoGo has over 3,000 pre-registrations for the new service.

Since the announcement of live service, Tri-CoGo’s drop and install technicians have been working diligently to install internet in the homes and businesses of excited customers. Technicians are now installing 40 customers a week. “Over the last four weeks, we have managed 100 installs without any major issues, says Joe Lightsey, Network Administrator for Tri-CoGo, “I really appreciate the hard work and dedication of our staff and partners in delivering fiber internet to Tri-County EMC members”. The technicians have received praise from several Tri-CoGo customers on the professionalism and care that was exhibited when working in their homes. “The crew doing the installation was courteous and quick. They insured I was able to get all my devices connected and working. I am thrilled with the service,”, commends Martha Ann Altman, Zone 1 customer.