Electric Co-op
Broadband Milestones

“While this may not have been the best strategy for revenue early on, we approached this project by reaching those members who had the most need.”

Chris Davis, General Manager, CEMC

"As a Co-op, we're committed to ensuring our members and communities have access to all of the societal, education and economic benefits that world-class broadband delivers, backed by our cooperative commitment to make lives better. Conexon expertise and support have made a tremendous difference in our ability to do that. Randy and Jonathan have been valuable partners and instrumental to our success."

Mitchell Johnson, President and CEO, Ozarks Electric Cooperative

Singing River Connect is making waves with super-fast fiber internet for the neatly 80,000 homes and businesses served by the electric co-op. Upon completion, the FTTH network will span 7,669 miles across nine counties in two states!

Many areas served by Singing River Electric Cooperative have little or no internet access. Some areas also lack phone service. Singing River Connect fiber internet will power local communities while providing fiber-fast internet access.

Members are thrilled and grateful for what's coming, and take rates are already soaring at nearly %50. The $150 million network is expected to be completed within six years to reach 100% of Singing River Electric members.

“We’re giving our members the best internet connection they can get anywhere in the world. We’re helping our students be able to do homework, where before they were having to drive to the library or the local McDonald’s to be able to get Wi-Fi service.”

Ron Barnes, CEO, Coast Electric Power Association and Coast Connect

"Our co-op has long maintained a commitment to providing a vital service to the communities and members we serve, affordably and accessibly. We are pleased to work with Conexon, because of the team’s extensive experience, to now offer broadband in that same spirit."

Scott Hendrix, CEO, Tombigbee Electric Association

“Our membership’s response has been extremely positive. Everybody is ready for broadband to come down their road and I’m not surprised by that. This is the right time to get into the business, provide this service to our membership and give them abilities they’ve never had before.”

“It’s been great to have Conexon as a partner to help us throughout the process. The team is showing us how to use what we know in the electric business to help us get started in the broadband business.”

Matthew Ware, General Manager, PRVEPA

"I can’t speak highly enough of this strategy. Having the team in place early and letting them get their feet wet when things are calm allows them to hit the ground running when you ramp things up. It’s really important to hire good people who know how to operate competitively, while also fitting in with a co-op’s customer service mindset."

Patrick Grace, CEO, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative

"Marketing was the biggest learning curve. I think the thing that’s put us over the top is the addition of a marketing strategy. We’ve put some people in place in-house and started working with Conexon, and that’s when we really saw the project take off.”

Brandon Fisher, Director of Technology and Communications, AVECC

"A lot of firms can do feasibility studies, but have never built a network. Go with someone like Conexon who has done this and has experience in fiber to the home. You don’t want to be a guinea pig or have an outside firm learning on your job”

Daniel Webster, CEO, Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative

"When you’re looking back and wondering ‘Was there really a need?’ and then you see over 80 percent of the population takes your service in a certain area, that really speaks to the desperation of these rural populations to get reliable and affordable internet.”

Melissa Gay, Communications and Member Services Manager, CVEC

“We chose Conexon because we were able to go and look at and talk to cooperatives already working with Conexon to see exactly what a successful project looked like,” Kelton said. “Conexon has been there with us through the entire process.”

Kerry Kelton, General Manager and CEO, MidSouth Electric Cooperative

“Delta Electric has one of the best reputations for service among cooperatives in the state. We’re committed to giving our broadband customers the same level of service that we provide to our electric customers.”

David O’Bryan, General Manager, Delta Electric Power Association

“People are paying attention and excited about the offer. When we posted a Facebook picture of our first fiber hut, we got around 8,000 views in 24 hours. Even people who do have service options now can’t wait to change providers.”

Keith Hayward, CEO/GM, North East Mississippi Electric Power Association

“We want our co-op members to experience the improved quality of life that fiber internet brings. True broadband access helps our students, businesses and communities thrive in today’s competitive world, and we want to be our co-op members’ local source for reliable, affordable internet, TV and phone service.”

Mel Coleman, CEO, North Arkansas Electric Cooperative

“The Conexon staff complement my staff by filling some holes that we have and supporting us in some roles that we need,” he continued. “I’ve got a great staff on the electric side – very talented, very capable, go-getters – but this build out is an arm of the business that we’ve never been in before, and we need experts we can rely on to help us get up to speed on it, learn about it, and make sure we’re managing it correctly.”

Randy Carroll, CEO, East Mississippi Electric Power Association

HEMC, which supports over 27,700 members across 3,870 miles, partnered with Conexon’s marketing team to enhance customer outreach and drive take rates as the fiber broadband footprint grows.

“We knew that Conexon was the company that could help us bring this to reality,” Smith says. “They have a proven track record with other cooperatives and a blueprint on how to do this in a way that works in terms of affordability, speed of deployment and sustainability.”

Tim Smith, General Manager, ECOEC

"Our Board was visionary and willing to take a chance to build a network that would meet our members’ needs,” says Co-Mo CEO Aaron Bradshaw. “When we started building the network in 2012, we approached it in four phases with ‘off-ramps’ along the way so that if necessary, we could stop. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.”

Aaron Bradshaw, CEO, Co-Mo Electric Cooperative

“Knowing you can help so many people improve their quality of life, just as we did more than 80 years ago, is a big responsibility, and something that cannot be ignored.”

Hunter Robinson, CEO, Central Rural Electric Cooperative

"Being a part of this project has been very rewarding for me. It's the closest thing I'll ever experience in my lifetime to the original co-op mission when we electrified America. It's neat to have the opportunity, at this stage, 87 years later, to come back and be involved in something very similar to what transpired in 1937."

Michael McWaters, Executive Vice President/CEO, Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative

CVEC Fiber was formed to fulfill the CVEC mission statement “Improve Life, Serve Community” by providing fast, reliable fiber internet to all members and businesses within the co-op’s footprint.

CVEC Fiber

“Hearing the Conexon philosophy and what they stand for was the buy-in for me. I knew we could treat our members as we have been in the past, like they’re used to. We didn’t want to turn that responsibility over to any other company and put our name on it. We wanted to be totally involved and make sure our membership was taken care of.”

Kurt Carver, President/CEO, Kosicusko REMC

“For cooperatives, this is in our DNA. We’re there to serve the unserved and the underserved. Our history is providing electric power to those who couldn’t get it, or couldn’t get it quickly. The same thing is at work here with broadband.”

Ray Grinberg, CEO, Tri-County EMC

"We’ve served our membership with reliable electricity for 80 years and now it’s time to serve them the next generation of utility. Don’t let the numbers scare you. You don’t have to do it alone."

Michael Kirkland, CEO, Petit Jean Electric Cooperation

“Conexon had the experience and expertise we were looking for. Randy and Jonathan and the team work exclusively with cooperatives, so they understand rural territories, the co-op’s commitment to service and the unique challenges we face. Based on the recommendations from other co-ops and Conexon’s end-to-end capabilities, we felt the company was the best solution for us. We’re excited to get started on the project.”

Chad Lowder, CEO, Tri-County Electric Cooperative

“As a cooperative, we are going to walk this together with our members. When we have those challenging times, we are going to take a little bit of time together to make sure we work through it. We’ll make sure they have the resources they need. It will only be as successful as we make it successful.”

Juli Orme, General Manager, Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative

“This was a tremendous amount of work, with weeks putting in 80 to 100 hours, and we had some long, painful nights,” says Vanslyke.

“But in talking with Randy, I could tell that the hours we were putting in were exactly what he’d had to do. He understood when I would hit a wall because he had been there. He and the others at Conexon have been very responsive to all my questions and that means a lot to me.”

Sean Vanslyke, CEO, SEMO Electric Cooperative

“Over 80 years ago, we brought electricity to the rural areas of northeast Louisiana, and the quality of life for our members improved dramatically. This is the same approach we’re bringing with fiber and Volt Broadband.”

Jeff Churchwell, General Manager, Northeast Louisiana Electric Cooperative

“From the first meeting, Conexon impressed us. The partners were knowledgeable of the subject matter and authoritative—they knew exactly what needed to be done to be successful. But they also really care about what they’re doing and believe in it..”

Shawn Edmondson, PE/General Manager, Natchez Trace Electric Power Association

“We just couldn’t figure out the way to communicate to our members and communities to help them understand the value of the project and what we could do for them. It spurred me reaching out to Conexon to see what resources were available.”

Casey Logan, President and CEO, PGEC

“From the first meeting, we immediately felt comfortable with the depth of their experience and expertise and ability to help us successfully deliver this service to our members,”

Barry Rowland, General Manager, Monroe County Electric Power Association

“Our ability to offer broadband to our rural areas is tremendous, and speaks directly to our 80-year commitment to make lives better in the communities we serve. Broadband holds potential for economic and business growth, higher home values and it allows people who choose rural living to have the same services and lifestyle benefits as those who live in cities.”

Jeff Newman, CEO, Forked Deer Electric Cooperative

“United Fiber won a significant amount in the CAF II auction. This was made possible by hard work, strategy and choosing the right partners.

We would not have been successful without the help of the Rural Electric Consortium and Conexon. Working together provided United with the expertise to successfully navigate the auction and win over $20 million. This money will change lives in northwest Missouri!”

Jim Bagley, CEO/General Manager, United Electric Cooperative

"We value the partnership we have with the Conexon team and we appreciate the advocacy they’re doing at the federal level to help get broadband to rural America. It would be tough for us to do this on our own.”

Nate Boettcher, President/CEO, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services

“When you have competition and you also have a Jonathan Chambers who shares with you how your competition views things, what’s important to them and the rules they play by, that begins to change some of the business decisions you make and you get a lot better at your business. Even if you have a lot of competition, you can win.”

Tom Howard, CEO, Callaway Electric Cooperative

"That decision had a direct impact on our communities’ ability to respond to the pandemic quickly and minimize the negative effects to follow."

Tim Johnson, CEO, Otsego Electric Cooperative

“It’s increasingly clear to us how much this fiber network is making our members’ lives better in the communities we serve. They are overjoyed to have this service.”

Jack Davis, General Manager, Pemiscot-Dunklin Fiber