Innovative system will control costs and increase efficiency
MAYFIELD, Kentucky — The WK&T Telecommunications Cooperative board of directors is pleased to announce a partnership with the city of Martin in Weakley County, Tennessee, to build a fiber network that would allow the city to read water meters remotely. The meter-reading network would give the city an unprecedented ability to control future costs and increase efficiencies.
“This is an innovative approach to solving a problem for a forward-thinking city, but the impetus for this expansion aligns with our tried and true value as a communications cooperative,” says WK&T CEO Trevor Bonnstetter. “We want to commend the officials who we have worked with over the past 12 months. They understand the needs of the residents and business owners in Martin and Weakley County and are dedicated to finding a fiscally responsible solution to control their costs.”
In Martin, WK&T will lay about 150 miles of fiber optic line during the planned 12-month build out. The new fiber optic system will allow the municipal water departments to obtain more accurate readings more efficiently by transmitting signals directly from the meters back to the office.
As the fiber network is being built for the water meter monitoring system, WK&T will be able to connect local residents and businesses to high-bandwidth internet access, filling the need for world-class communications infrastructure.
“The city will see immediate benefits from a much more efficient way to read meters,” Bonnstetter says. “But the most visible benefit to residents and small businesses will be the possibility of bringing reliable broadband to their neighborhoods. Increasingly, communities like Martin need broadband to avoid being left behind in economic development, education, health care and improvements in the overall quality of life.”
As a cooperative, which is locally owned and reinvests any profits back in the community, WK&T was in a unique position to partner with the city. “Simply put, cooperatives are different,” Bonnstetter adds. “We’re invested in improving the lives of our customers, and our success will go toward growing the network to serve more this community.”
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WK&T is a communications cooperative serving West Kentucky and Northwest Tennessee across more than 15,000 access lines. The company is dedicated to using technology to keep its members connected through local and long-distance calling, high-speed internet, digital television and beyond.