Dyer Mayor Chris Younger announced on Friday that the city has partnered with Gibson Connect to create a public high-speed Wi-Fi hotspot in Dyer.  “We’re pleased that Gibson Connect has provided this Wi-Fi hotspot in an area accessible to everyone,” said Mayor Younger.  “Both local and college students are returning to classes, and in some cases, high-speed internet isn’t available in their homes,” he said.  “Remote workers may find this service helpful as well. This access point is free to the public and will provide a reliable connection.”

The Wi-Fi hotspot is located at the former Dyer VFW at 273 East College Street. It can be accessed from the parking lot behind the building. Younger said that once the pandemic has abated, he hopes access can be provided inside the building as well; but for the immediate future, users can access high-speed internet service from their vehicles.”  Service is available from 7 AM to 10 PM daily.

“We are happy we can help provide this important service to our consumer-members and communities,” said Dan Rodamaker, President and CEO of Gibson EMC and Gibson Connect. “Access to high-speed internet service is absolutely essential to our daily lives, but it is especially critical during this pandemic when our students have needed to connect to their schools virtually and our members have needed to work from home,” he said.

“We applaud and are grateful to Governor Bill Lee, his staff and our state and federal legislators for supporting rural broadband access,” Rodamaker said.  “The award of grant funds for this purpose has enabled Gibson EMC and Gibson Connect to affordably help our members and our communities in a meaningful way.”

“Dyer is one of 17 locations in our Tennessee service area where Gibson Connect has partnered with local leaders to create free, public Wi-Fi hotspots,” said Charles Phillips, Gibson EMC VP of Technical Services and Gibson Connect VP of Operations.  “All were financed through the Tennessee Emergency Broadband Fund and Gibson Connect.” 

More information on these and other Wi-Fi hotspots available to the public can be found at www.gibsonconnect.com.

“Ultimately, Gibson Connect plans to provide high-speed, fiber-based internet access to all our eligible members, but with state and federal support, we have been able to provide the important community service of Wi-Fi hotspots now,” Phillips said.

The City of Dyer, chartered in 1899, is a small community of about 2,800 located in rural northwest Tennessee in northern Gibson County.

Gibson EMC is a local, not-for-profit, member-owned and member-controlled cooperative serving almost 39,000 homes and businesses in eight west Tennessee counties (Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion and Madison) and four west Kentucky counties (Carlisle, Fulton, Graves and Hickman). Gibson Connect is Gibson EMC’s wholly-owned, not-for-profit broadband subsidiary formed to provide high-speed, fiber-based internet service to Gibson EMC’s members. Gibson Connect also offers Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service and TV service.