5000th FIBER INSTALLATION
1:42PM January 15, 2021
In just a little over 2 years, Jackson County REMC installed
our 5,000th fiber member. On December 1, 2020, we visited the
Walters family, our 5,000th install, in Washington County. Garth Walters
mentioned how excited he is to be connected to fiber-optic internet since
working from home has been very challenging for him. There is no doubt that our
fiber is going to help him and his family.
This was and continues to be our goal when we decided to offer fiber to
our membership through our Smart Grid Project.
It has been an exciting year for our fiber project, but it
also been a challenging one. At the beginning of April, our installers were
challenged with having to provide temporary installs due to COVID concerns.
Knowing the internet is an essential service, especially during this time of
working and learning from home, we had to find a way to provide fiber service
to our members. Once we were advised we could return to normal installations,
our installers then had to revisit and install our fiber permanently. Another
challenge, that is ongoing, is ensuring we follow the CDC guidelines when our
installers enter members’ homes. We want to keep our employees and our members safe
and healthy.
To service all our 20,000 members, the fiber must be strung
throughout our service territory which covers 10 counties. Currently, we are
trying to get 15-16 miles of fiber placed each week. In the meantime, as each
zone’s mainline fiber construction becomes complete, we can begin pre-drop
survey visits. During this visit, our surveyors determine where the fiber
devices should be placed inside and outside of the home. Once this is complete,
our drop contractors run the fiber to the home. The final step, in-home
installation is completed by our broadband technician. The technician
activates the service and works with the member to make sure their devices are
connected to the internet through our high-speed fiber-optic smart grid
network. These steps do not happen in a day or even a week. The graphic below
shows an ideal timeline of how long the entire process should take after you
are contacted to have your pre-drop survey.
We know the wait can be frustrating, and not knowing when we will be in your area can be inconvenient, but rest assured, our entire cooperative is working hard to provide high-speed fiber-optic internet reliably, economically, and responsibly to all of our members of Jackson County REMC. We cannot wait to hit our next milestone!
