Does Your Home or Business Need Faster More Reliable Internet?

NEW LONDON — In an effort to acquire grants and other funding, as well as inform local legislators of a need in rural Ohio, Firelands Electric Cooperative is gathering data on current internet offerings and availability in and around their utility service territory. Firelands Electric has joined forces with three neighboring electric co-ops to see if would be practical for their electric co-ops to be part of a solution for rural broadband access in Ohio by conducting a feasibility study. Members of rural communities are encouraged to participate in the broadband study that is currently being conducted by Firelands Electric Cooperative in New London, Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative in North Baltimore, Lorain- Medina Rural Electric Cooperative in Wellington, and North Central Electric Cooperative in Attica. A direct link to the broadband survey (https://firelands.crowdfiber.com) is posted on Firelands Electric's website atwww.firelandsec.com and across the cooperative's social media outlets. "Co-ops were formed 85 years ago because large electric utilities wouldn't go into rural Ohio, so the co-ops took it upon themselves to extend electric service to rural homes and farms," Firelands General Manager Dan McNaull said. "This is why electric co-ops in rural Ohio are now completing feasibility studies for broadband." Firelands Electric, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility serving more than 9,100 homes and businesses in rural areas of Ashland, Huron, Lorain, and Richland counties that ranks among the highest energy utilities in the country for customer satisfaction. Visit the cooperative's website,www.firelandsec.com, Facebook page and Twitter feed, to learn more about reliable and affordable power.