When it comes to community service, an electric cooperative’s broadband arm in rural Michigan is knocking it out of the park.
Thumb Electric Cooperative is offering free Wi-Fi at the Bad Axe Little League Fields this season through its broadband internet company, TEC Fiber. These fields host several tournaments every year for teams across the state’s Thumb region northeast of Saginaw.
The Ubly-based co-op also is providing free Wi-Fi at Harbor Beach athletic complex, where generations of youngsters have competed in soccer, T-ball, baseball, softball, football and track.
Community feedback from these youth sports hubs shows TEC Fiber’s Wi-Fi is a home run.
“We are very excited about offering free Wi-Fi to areas of our communities,” said Clint Seidl, TEC’s broadband manager. “At the Little League fields, teams can now use cameras and apps to track stats during games and coaches are also using the Wi-Fi during practices for instructional videos.”
He said that their success has many other local athletic organizations contacting the co-op about getting Wi-Fi at their fields as well.
“We look forward to continuing to help our communities in any way we can,” said Seidl.
The idea for Wi-Fi at the ballfields came from the vice president of the Bad Axe Youth Baseball and Softball League, who is married to a TEC employee. Michelle Davis said fans are now posting on social media and families are streaming games for relatives who are unable to attend, something cellphone service alone could not support.
“I have had several parents mention that they use the service to livestream the games or operate the GameChanger app so that family members who are unable to be at the fields or live far away are still able to enjoy and follow their kids’ teams,” said Davis.
TEC Fiber’s Wi-Fi “has been a wonderful addition to our ballpark,” she said. “It is a way to still support and cheer on the team from afar. We are very grateful to TEC for providing that service to our families and the Bad Axe baseball and softball community!”
One of those Little Leaguers who grew up on co-op lines and also played varsity football and ran track at the Harbor Beach complex was Mitch Hirn, now the marketing and communication specialist at TEC.
“It was a very cool experience seeing TEC’s Wi-Fi go into the fields that I grew up playing on,” Hirn said. “I know firsthand how valuable it is to participate in youth athletics, and I hope that offering this service is a way to connect the community and get more kids interested in playing sports.”
Hirn said he relies on the Wi-Fi to help keep up with his cousin’s son’s games and track meets. “Now I have the option to pull out my phone and watch from home if I can’t make it.”
TEC Fiber launched in 2021 after the electric co-op purchased a local internet service provider and currently has more than 2,000 miles of overhead and underground fiber. The co-op expects to complete its initial fiber network buildout by the end of 2026 and expand service into the region’s other underserved pockets.
Hirn, who interned at the co-op during college, said TEC recognized that reliable broadband is essential for young adults to live in the Thumb, where the population of many villages falls below 1,000 and jobs have been scarce.
“People are starting to come back to the area, and we’ve heard what is keeping people here is the lower cost of living and because they can work from home now with reliable internet,” he said.
Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.