A local electric co-op says it hopes to provide broadband internet to all of its members within four years.
South Central Indiana REMC officials say they helped bring electricity to the region in the 1930s. While that work has long been completed, the co-op announced Tuesday they're undertaking a new project.
CEO James Tanneberger says his organization is uniquely situated to provide service that larger, traditional telecommunication companies won't.
"They have a business model that typically requires a return in a certain amount of time," he says. "Being a cooperative, we're in it for the long term. So the payback on our investment is a longer timeline than what they require."
Tanneberger says the REMC's total investment is over $80 million, and says the operation will begin to pay for itself over the next several years.
Work will begin in May, and parts of Monroe and Brown counties are scheduled to be serviced by the end of 2018.