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Arkansas’ electric co-ops to spend $1.66 billion on broadband expansion

Diamond State’s network will cover more than 64% of Arkansas with more than 50,000 miles of fiber.

ARKANSAS, USA — Diamond State Networks, a coalition of 13 Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, is the newest wholesale broadband provider in the state with the goal of providing high-speed internet access to 1.25 million rural Arkansans.

The Jonesboro-based coalition is co-managed by Mitchell Johnson, president, and CEO of Ozarks Electric, and Jeremiah Sloan, president, and CEO of Craighead Electric. The board of directors includes executives from the 13 partner cooperatives or subsidiary fiber networks. Diamond State’s network will cover more than 64% of Arkansas with more than 50,000 miles of fiber.

“Together, the 13 electric cooperatives have invested, or are planning to invest, more than $1.66 billion in broadband communication infrastructure, exclusively in fiber-optic networks. Focusing on reliability, quality, and sustainability, the network will serve nearly 600,000 potential customer locations, and will have an immensely positive impact on the state’s economy by helping to make Arkansas a place where people want to live and do business for years to come,” noted a statement from the network.

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