Rural Oklahomans Get Better Internet Access As Lake Region Electric Co-Op Completes Project

Thousands of rural Oklahomans now have access to better Internet as the Lake Region Electric Cooperative has completed its fiber optic build-out.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office said one in six Oklahomans do not have access to reliable Internet, and this project is a step in the right direction.

"It's a big day of accomplishment for us, it's been well over a decade since we started this campaign, and we're just extremely glad to have that accomplished," said Glen Clark with Lake Region Electric Cooperative.

Clark said the co-op started building the fiber optic service back in 2013, but have been talking about it long before then, so it's exciting the work is complete.

"Most of our 11,000 connections are residential services, however we do connect businesses, we do connect churches, fire, police stations and other first responders," Clark said.

He said the pandemic showed that Oklahomans need fast Internet service at home.

Mike Sanders with the Oklahoma Broadband Office said he agrees.

"What the pandemic brought out was the fact we have an inability, and deficiencies, and most of the data we're showing our deficiencies in our rural areas," he said.

Sanders said it's the broadband office's goal to have 95 percent of Oklahoma connected to the Internet, and today is a major win for the state.

"To make rural areas competitive with our urban areas, and to keep our home-grown kids home, and to compete in this global economy we have to be able to connect, and to bridge that gap, and that's exactly what today and what our Co-Op is doing," he said.