Aeneas STEMC

With the need for broadband internet services growing at an exponential rate, Southwest Tennessee Electric and Aeneas Internet and Telephone are joining forces to bring this much needed service to more people around West Tennessee! This partnership will allow future expansions of existing Aeneas fiber cities as well as reach the underserved areas of West Tennessee that have no broadband option available to them.

Aeneas / STEMC Fiber Project Complete

STEMC and Aeneas Internet and Telephone Completes Broadband Expansion Project

JACKSON, TN, July 22, 2024 – Aeneas Internet and Telephone is proud to announce the completion of its fiber broadband expansion project with Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (STEMC) a year ahead of schedule.

The $110 million dollar fiber to the home project, which the state of Tennessee contributed over $35 million dollars to, began in December of 2019. “The State of Tennessee applauds Aeneas and STEMC’s completion of its fiber broadband expansion project. STEMC and Aeneas have been incredible partners to the state as we have worked to close the digital divide in Rural West Tennessee.  We are excited to see how this project continues to drive economic development and access to critical services for our West Tennessee communities,” says Taylre M. Beaty, State Broadband Director. The expansion of high-speed fiber internet now services approximately 45,000 members.

The partnership allowed Aeneas and STEMC to provide much needed fast and reliable internet to rural areas. “With the completion of this project, we have brought vital broadband service to our rural communities, ensuring that everyone in the Southwest Electric Membership has access to high-speed fiber connectivity. The need for reliable high-speed internet has never been greater, and this achievement underscores our commitment to the communities we serve. Our partnership with Southwest Tennessee Electric has been crucial in making this vision a reality. Together, we’ve brought essential services to all the members we serve, empowering communities and connecting lives,” said Stephen Thorpe, CEO of Aeneas Internet and Telephone.

President of Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Kevin Murphy echoed the sentiment by saying, “We’ve always been committed to enhancing the lives of our members, and this broadband project is a natural extension of that mission. Reliable high-speed internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. This project will significantly impact our members’ lives, from enabling better access to education and healthcare to supporting small businesses and creating new economic opportunities. Partnering with Aeneas Internet and Telephone, we’ve brought a vital service to our rural communities, ensuring they stay connected and thrive in today’s digital world.”

About Aeneas Internet and Telephone

Founded in 1995, Aeneas Internet and Telephone offers a myriad of services including gigabit fiber broadband, local phone service, VoIP, office phone systems, corporate email, network security, off-site file storage, data center services, managed networking and more. Aeneas also partners with electric companies to provide broadband internet to rural areas. For more information on Aeneas visit: https://aeneas.com/.

About Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation

Based in Brownsville, Tennessee, Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative distributing power to 50,000 meters in parts of 11 West Tennessee counties. The cooperative powers nearly 50 communities of various sizes and maintains more than 4,000 miles of electric distribution lines. With offices in Haywood, Tipton, Madison, and Chester counties; STEMC has been community focused for almost 85 years.

FAQ

1. What is Fiber Broadband

Fiber is 100 times faster than today’s basic broadband, allowing you to get what you want instantaneously. Imagine not having to wait on things buffering; everything will be ready to go when you are. So whether you are video chatting, uploading family videos, working from home, or playing your favorite online games, all you need to do is click and you’re there.

2. Why was this partnership formed between Aeneas and Southwest Tennessee Electric?

Southwest Tennessee Electric is member owned and community focused. It has been for almost 85 years. Consumer-members have asked us repeatedly to consider this large project. To our members, access to dependable and affordable broadband isn’t just an internet issue it’s a quality of life issue. In addition to broadband access, STEMC will use the communications network to further increase electric reliability to its consumer-members. Southwest Tennessee Electric and Aeneas unified goal for this project is to EMPOWER COMMUNITIES AND CONNECT LIVES.

3. What areas will be served by this partnership?

This partnership will pave the way for a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment into West Tennessee’s future. The new Gigabit Fiber network will eventually expand to every member in Southwest Tennessee Electric’s service area. Aeneas has already deployed broadband fiber in four cities, Henderson, Brownsville, Toone and Medon TN, so it may be available to you today! Check FIBER.AENEAS.COM to see if it is available at your address.

4. Will fiber broadband be available for my home or business?

Aeneas has already deployed broadband fiber in four cities, Henderson, Brownsville, Toone and Medon TN, so it may be available to you today! Check FIBER.AENEAS.COM to see if it is available at your address. The Aeneas / STEMC partnership will allow expansion to those within Southwest Tennessee Electric’s service area and allow Aeneas to expand its existing fiber cities.

5. Why did Southwest Tennessee Electric seek a partner in Aeneas?

Aeneas was founded in 1995 offering basic dial-up Internet services. From the outset, Aeneas sought to serve its surrounding rural communities in Tennessee. It was the first broadband provider to rural Tennessee, and Aeneas also became the largest Internet provider in West Tennessee. In 2014, they went live with fiber optics in Henderson TN. The focus of Aeneas continues to be local customer service to the rural communities of West Tennessee. Aeneas brings to the table expertise in areas of network engineering, sales, and technical support. Their vast knowledge and similar mission are a great fit for STEMC’s members.

6. Will this fiber broadband project cause my Southwest Tennessee Electric rates to increase?

Regardless of an investment in electric system technologies including broadband, incremental rate increases are required to keep up with increasing operations and maintenance expenses of the electric system. However, specifically pertaining to broadband, no rate increases are anticipated to fund the project.

7. I am already an Aeneas customer, how will this new partnership affect my services?

If you are already an Aeneas customer, your current services will not be affected in anyway. Your services will not be disrupted and we will continue to serve you with the exceptional customer service you have come to expect from us here at Aeneas Internet and Telephone. Partnering with Southwest Tennessee Electric will allow Aeneas to provide more choice, better products, and more services for new and existing customers in the future!

8. Will Broadband be deployed to all Southwest Tennessee Electric consumer-members?

So long as members continue to support the project by signing up, construction will eventually lead to every Southwest Tennessee Electric consumer-member having access to fiber-internet. Member and community support will be crucial to the success of the project.

9. How long will the project take?

It is anticipated that the entire project take five (5) years to construct. There are five (5) phases of construction, each planned to take approximately a year. It may take up to another year after that to finish connecting all consumer-members with individual services. Patience is a virtue.

10. Where is Phase 1 planned for?

Construction is planned for portions of Tipton County and Chester County. In March of 2020 Southwest Tennessee Electric was awarded a grant from Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development to serve STEMC consumer-members in a portion of Haywood county.

11. When do you think you'll start construction?

We are hopeful for construction to begin in Spring 2020. More information will follow soon with specific areas to be served so we can begin signups.

12. Can't you get grants to help fund this?

In March of 2020 Southwest Tennessee Electric was awarded a grant from Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development to serve STEMC consumer-members in a portion of Haywood county. STEMC will continue to look for more opportunities to seek out grants. More federal grant applications will be opened this spring.

13. Will there be any contracts or promotional offers?

There will not be any contracts and no introductory price that goes up after 12-months. No bait-and-switch where you have to call and haggle for a better price after 12-months.

14. Are you going to offer Cable-TV?

With so many options to stream TV over the internet now, it does not look likely that Aeneas will offer TV services. You may have heard of products like Sling, Hulu, YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Disney +. The subscriptions are much cheaper and offer a wider variety of options. This will be re-evaluated after Phase 1.

15. How expensive will it be, and what speeds will be available?

Aeneas fiber broadband is capable of Gigabit speeds and will be one of the most advanced networks in the nation. Pricing for residential service is very competitive, with prices starting at $59.95 for 250/250Mbps Broadband Internet. Details on other packages are listed above on this page as well as FIBER.AENEAS.COM World class speeds, competitive pricing, and local service what more can you ask for?

Residential

Aeneas brings you the fastest, most dependable and affordable Broadband Internet available today!

Benefits of Aeneas Fiber

  • Blazing High Speed Broadband Internet
  • Cut the cord! Watch TV over the Internet
  • Work from Home, online education,and faster online videos and video games
  • No Caps or limits on how much data you use!
  • We will never slow you down or charge overage fees

Depending on your needs we have a package tailored to you. Check out our service levels and pricing below and if you need help deciding, let us know. Just give us a call at 901-622-9200 or 731-554-9200 or click HERE for more ways to contact us.

ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE

Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation and Aeneas Internet and Telephone Form Partnership to Bring Broadband Internet to West Tennessee

Broadband via gigabit fiber coming soon to Southwest Tennessee Electric’s consumer-members

Brownsville, Tennessee December 11, 2019 Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation and Aeneas Internet and Telephone announce today that they have formed a partnership to build and expand a gigabit fiber network to bring broadband communications to the region. This partnership will pave the way for a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment into West Tennessee’s future. The new network will eventually expand to provide high-speed internet access to every consumer-member in Southwest Tennessee Electric’s service area.

The network will allow Southwest Tennessee Electric to build one of the most advanced electric distribution systems in Tennessee. The communication network will allow the cooperative to monitor and remotely manage equipment across the utility’s 11-county service area, reducing cost, improving reliability, and increasing operational efficiency.

The gigabit fiber network will also allow Southwest Tennessee Electric and Aeneas to bring broadband internet and telephone services to many unserved areas of southwest Tennessee. Construction’s first phase of nearly 1,000 miles of fiber optic cable will begin in the spring of 2020. Phase one will take approximately one year to complete and will focus on Tipton County and Chester County. Additionally, grant applications have been submitted to serve Hardeman and Haywood counties. Following phases will be launched based on participation and interest. The entire project is expected to take five years to complete.

We have heard the call from our consumer-members all over the service area who are asking for reliable high-speed internet service, said Kevin Murphy, president of Southwest Tennessee Electric. Recognizing that retail broadband service would be a new space for the cooperative, we began looking for a local partner with similar mission and purpose serving the rural communities of West Tennessee. We found that strategic partnership with Aeneas Internet and Telephone. Aeneas is passionate about local customer service, and that is the culture and purpose that we looked for in a partner.

Our common mission is to serve our neighbors, Murphy said. That, coupled with their expansive knowledge of the technology required to operate a gigabit fiber network, makes this a perfect fit.

What an exciting time for West Tennessee! said Stephen Thorpe, CEO of Aeneas Internet and Telephone. For years we have worked with Southwest Tennessee Electric on various projects bringing broadband service to rural communities around West Tennessee. The need for broadband is growing rapidly, and in today’s world we really do rely on it being available to all of us not just those that live in or around the metro areas. Our founder Jonathan Harlan instilled in us a commitment to the communities we live in and the people we serve to always have our customers and community our top priority. This is why he believed Southwest Tennessee Electric would be a perfect partner because we share cultures and beliefs. All of us here at Aeneas are excited to partner with Southwest Tennessee Electric to continue with Mr. Harlan’s legacy and help bring this much needed service to even more people in the communities we serve!

About Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation

Based in Brownsville, Tennessee, Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative distributing power to 50,000 meters in parts of 11 West Tennessee counties. The cooperative powers nearly 50 communities of various sizes and maintains more than 4,000 miles of electric distribution lines. With offices in Haywood, Tipton, Madison, and Chester counties; STEMC has been community focused for almost 85 years.

About Aeneas Internet and Telephone

Headquartered in Jackson, Tennessee, Aeneas Internet and Telephone has been named to Entrepreneur magazine’s Hot 500 list of fastest growing businesses in the United States, as well as BusinessTN magazine’s Hot100 and Inc. Magazine’s Inc 5,000. Founded in 1995, Aeneas offers a myriad of services including gigabit fiber broadband, local and long distance, VoIP, office phone systems, commercial web hosting and corporate e-mail, network security, off-site file storage, data center services, managed networking, and more.

If you would like more information about Southwest Electric Membership Corporation, please call Blake Stegall at 731-772-1322, or email bstegall@stemc.com.

If you would like more information about Aeneas Internet and Telephone, please call Stephen Thorpe at 731-554-9200 or email sthorpe@corp.aeneas.com.