Beginning around June 2021, life on the farm got a little bit faster in Beedeville, Arkansas.

It was a thing of beauty to see the trenches being dug and the cable being laid in the ground and strung on the poles as workers connected each home.

Several farming communities in Northeast Arkansas now have 5G thanks to SkyFiNet, with funding through the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant program.

Also known as the Arkansas Re-Connect Program, Fiber-to-the-Home in now available in Beedeville, McCrory, Corning, Fairfield Bay and Oak Grove. It will soon be expanded to Patterson as well.

Our community can now purchase service at speeds of 100 mbps to 1 gbps per second. AMAZING!

Jacob, an employee of SkyFiNet, shared with me what it meant to him to help lay the first cable in Beedeville. This wasn’t just another day on the job for Jacob. He understood the significance these lines can mean to our rural homes, children, and communities.

I remember stories shared by my parents of similar memories when the first electric lines were strung across rural Arkansas. In 1930, only 2.1 percent of Arkansas farms had electricity. 

But when it happened, it was a game-changer.

Celebration of First Electric Cooperative’s raising of its first power pole, near Jacksonville (Pulaski County); October 20, 1937. Photo’s courtesy of the Museum of American History, Cabot Public Schools. See encyclopedia of Arkansas entry.

Something of this historic magnitude always requires a team approach.

The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that, “County extension agents from the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) organized farmers, signed members to the co-ops, and reviewed the cooperatives’ plans for electrical lines. In Arkansas, three electric cooperatives were incorporated by June 1937: First Electric Cooperative, serving parts of Lonoke, Prairie, and Pulaski counties; Woodruff Electric Cooperative, serving parts of Woodruff County; and Farmers Electric Cooperative, serving parts of Jackson County.”(CALS, 2021)

So, I would like to extend a big Christmas virtual hug and thank-you to the employees of SkyFiNet, the UA Division of AG, Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Farm Bureau, and other community leaders who worked collaboratively to conduct research and support community development efforts to make this year’s historic step possible.

What a tremendous gift to us all!

Wishing you a blessed holiday season!

~Karen

P.S. You might want to try the super easy and extra delicious Soylicious™ Southern Bread Pudding this month . . . you will be glad you did!

Happy Holidays!

Sources:

CALS. (2021). Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas (2021). Our history. Source: https://aecc.com/about-us/our-history/

SkyFiNet. (2021). Interview and accessed photos: https://www.skyfinet.com/