Opelikans who need a basic level of internet access will soon be able to sign up for the free service at a summit meeting of the Tennessee State Communications Commission.
The summit, hosted in Nashville, was a part of a weeklong celebration of the nation’s broadband, with attendees getting free broadband services from companies including AT&T, Comcast, Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable, among others.
The summit, which is part of the Internet Freedom Week, is a joint effort between the commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which coordinates the work of the commission.
A free tier is included with all basic Internet service offered by AT&t, Comcast and Charter Communications.
The tiers are: “fast” (15 Mbps), “fast tier” (20 Mbps), and “premium” (40 Mbps).
Those who sign up in the new service will get a digital certificate from AT&T and a monthly fee for the full monthly allotment of services, which ranges from $35 for “fast tiers” to $130 for the “premier tiers.”
The new service is free to Tennessee residents with an ID from AT & T, Comcast or Charter.
In addition to free broadband service, residents who sign in to the summit service will also be able access public internet access from ATN in addition to the free services.
That will be the case in some of the communities participating in the summit, such as Nashville.
The Tennessean reported last month that AT&.
T., Comcast, Comcast Communications and Charter all are offering access to the public internet in addition, the state of Tennessee, which has a population of about 4.2 million, has about 2.4 million broadband users.
The state also has some of its largest cities in Nashville and Memphis.
