Loup Generator — Winter 2022

president’s message
Loup working to bring
broadband to rural areas
Over the past several months, many of you have
possibly read the articles linking Loup Power
District to studies associated with rural broadband.
After thinking about this for a while, you
might ask yourself, “Why is Loup doing this, and
what is the benefit?”
To start, there is a substantial amount of money
available from various government resources
to bring high speed broadband access to rural
areas of the country. That funding prompted us
to consider how we could assist with this effort.
So, Loup, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD),
Platte County, and Cornhusker Public Power
District worked together to enlist the services of the
National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.
The NRTC — which serves more than 1,500 utilities
in 48 states — is conducting a study on bringing
high speed broadband service to Loup’s fourcounty
area.
Loup and NPPD have been discussing how access
to high speed broadband can help with economic
development in the rural areas of Loup’s service
area. NPPD has been looking at numerous precision
agricultural developments, and this type of
service could enhance that activity, as well as other
economic development services. Additionally,
high speed broadband might entice some young
adults to stay in our smaller towns rather than
migrating to larger cities in the Midwest.
As you can see, the benefit is real and tangible —
especially if this can be done in the right manner.
One impediment to this, however, is a State of
Nebraska law that prohibits Loup from providing
broadband service to end-use customers. State law
does not, however, prohibit Loup from developing
a backbone for service that can be leased
to a company that provides the service. Loup has
a vast amount of infrastructure (such as power
poles) already in place that can be used to string
fiber optic cable that can be used for high speed
broadband service.
This process draws similarities to the electrification
of rural Nebraska in the 1930s and ’40s. The
foresight for stringing wire to rural America along
with federal programs helped bring electricity to
area homes. This enhanced the quality of life for
everyone in the rural areas of the United States.
Broadband can have the same effect on rural
residents today.
With the Covid-19 pandemic of the past 18 months,
it has become even more important to bring
high speed broadband access to the rural areas
of Nebraska. It is imperative that schools and
students have this access in the event that they
need to conduct remote learning.
All these factors persuaded Loup Power District’s
Board of Directors and management that this
project was worth pursuing. It is definitely not a
done deal, but at least the process has started,
allowing the District to better determine the project’s
feasibility and economics.
As we move forward, you can keep up to date by
following Loup on social media, looking at our
website, and watching the news. We look forward
to it.
NEAL SUESS
President/CEO
WINTER 2022 | 3