In January 2018, WK&T entered an agreement to bring fiber internet connections for smart water meters to Dresden, Tennessee. The impact of this agreement, however, will be felt far beyond residents’ kitchen sinks. WK&T plans to expand the network that will be built for these smart meters in order to offer high-speed broadband telecommunications services to residents and businesses in Dresden. Construction crews will install nearly 70 miles of fiber infrastructure in Dresden during the planned buildout, which began in February. The new fiber optic network will allow the municipal water department to gather more accurate readings more efficiently by transmitting signals directly from the meters back to the office.
This build will include homes and businesses in the city limits of Dresden and will connect to the existing fiber network in the city limits of neighboring Martin.
WK&T has just begun the tunneling process (called “boring”) that will connect the two cities. Crews are working daily as the weather permits. WK&T hopes to offer services to the first homes and businesses in Dresden starting this July.
In addition to high-speed fiber internet, the cooperative will also bring new voice, security and television offerings to the residents of Dresden. Work in Dresden’s neighboring city of Martin, to which the new network will be connected, began in February 2017 and is expected to be completed by August 2018.
Keep an eye on this website, as well as WK&T’s social media outlets, for news on how to stay up-to-date with this exciting project as more information becomes available.