Increasingly, though, broadband access is seen as crucial for competing in the 21st century, in education, business and daily life. That’s certainly how LCUB sees it, Littleton said.

“We believe that it’s vital for our area for growth, for economic development, and the education of our children,” he said.

About three years ago LCUB installed a fiber-optic ring that passes through Turkey Creek and Cedar Bluff, down Kingston Pike and back into Loudon County to near U.S. Highway 321, Littleton said.

It was built for the utility’s own use, but LCUB already rents space on it to private companies along the route — not providing active internet service, but letting firms that use lots of data communicate among their own locations, he said.

If the board chooses, however, LCUB could provide high-speed internet to about 13,000 residential and business customers within a quarter-mile of the fiber ring, Littleton said. Over the past year, the utility surveyed its potential customers and had Magellan Advisers do a feasibility study on internet service. The board has those results, but turning the fiber ring into house-to-house internet would require a big capital investment, he said.

“We’re at the crossroads, if you will, on deciding if we’re going to go forward in the business,” Littleton said.

If the decision is yes, LCUB would probably copy Maryville’s municipal internet model, partnering with an established private firm, he said. Maryville ran fiber through an existing utility conduit, providing the infrastructure that Charter/Spectrum leases to serve local residents and businesses.

It would probably take LCUB six to eight months to start its service, and seven years to make it available to everyone within the utility’s territory — about 70,000 people, Littleton said.