In essence, all cooperatives – including electric cooperatives – exist to serve. The premise of a cooperative is neighbors helping neighbors working towards a common goal. The cooperative business model allowed rural electric cooperatives to flourish around the country, bringing electric power where no one else would. Through this model, rural electrification became a reality. 

Today, access to rural broadband is a stark need; several electric cooperatives in Oklahoma and throughout the country are rising to the occasion to meet this necessity. A national study, the 2022 Rural Electric Cooperative Broadband Benchmarking Report, shows that rural broadband’s success is driven by co-ops’ desire to help the communities they serve. 

“At least 80% of the electric co-ops that participated in the study are seeing an increase in population, businesses or jobs in the communities where they delivered high-speed internet access. Electric co-ops listed community service and economic development as their main motivations for deploying broadband,” according to the report.

Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives power lives and empower communities. This commitment is evident in the 10 electric cooperatives that have gone beyond, providing reliable fiber broadband to the communities they serve. 

These cooperatives, members of the Cooperative Broadband Coalition, are enhancing quality of life in rural Oklahoma and making a positive difference every day. This is the cooperative way. Learn more at: https://cooperativebroadband.coop