KANSAS CITY, MO. May 25, 2021 - Conexon Connect, the internet service provider created and managed by rural fiber-optic network design and construction management leader Conexon, has been selected by The Satilla REMC to provide access to reliable, affordable fiber broadband service for the cooperative's membership.
The electric cooperative is teaming up with Conexon Connect to launch and deploy a 6,000-mile fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network that will span nine counties in southern Georgia, reaching 57,000 homes and businesses in the service territory.
The partnership with Satilla REMC follows broadband expansion announcements in Georgia in which Central Georgia EMC, Southern Rivers Energy, Washington EMC and Middle Georgia EMC announced partnerships with Conexon Connect. Now, with the five cooperatives together, approximately 100,000 central Georgia homes and businesses will have access to high-speed internet with state-of-the-art FTTH networks.
"This opportunity to expand broadband access into south Georgia for so many rural residents who lack high-speed internet is exciting," Conexon Partner Randy Klindt said. "Conexon Connect's world-class fiber internet will revitalize economic development and transform the communities served by Satilla REMC to bridge the digital divide for these unserved and underserved populations."
Satilla REMC's $150 million fiber network is expected to be completed within 4-5 years. The first customers are anticipated to be connected in 1Q 2022.
"Fiber internet will help Satilla REMC stay up to speed with where the world is going today. The pandemic has only magnified the need for high-speed internet access in our counties," Satilla REMC President/CEO Romeo Reyes said.
The fiber-optic network will offer members access to symmetrical (same upload and download speeds) gigabit internet capabilities - among the fastest and most robust in the nation. Additionally, it will provide reliable, clear phone service and enable the benefits of smart grid capabilities to the electrical infrastructure, including improved power outage response times, better load balancing, more efficient electricity delivery and others.
"Broadband has become an essential service in modern life and once again, electric cooperatives are filling the service gap," Conexon Partner Jonathan Chambers said. "Cooperatives were built on a covenant, an echo of the original American covenant of 'We, the People.' Covenants bind people together and lift them all up. Today, Satilla EMC renews its covenant with its members to improve the lives of its members. We are proud to play our part in that effort.
Conexon and Conexon Connect work exclusively with electric cooperatives with a commitment to serving 100% of co-op members with fiber broadband. With its clients, the company has designed more than 100,000 miles of fiber, builds more than 30,000 miles per year and has connected over 200,000 subscribers.
Conexon Connect participated as part of Conexon's Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium, a bidding entity awarded over $1.1 billion through the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction to deliver broadband service at the gigabit (highest service level) tier. The Connect awards encompass dozens of electric co-op territories throughout 10 states. The ambitious initiatives will deliver lightning-fast symmetrical broadband service to millions of Americans - fiber to 100% of rural homes and businesses in all the territories awarded in the RDOF auction. The company's intent is to partner with the electric cooperatives serving those awarded territories - as in the instance of the Georgia cooperatives.
Conexon Connect is the internet services provider (ISP) arm of rural fiber broadband design and construction management leader Conexon. The subsidiary was formed to operate and manage cooperative and investor-owned fiber-to-the-home networks. Connect leverages Conexon's decades of co-op operations, fiber-optic design and construction, telecommunications, federal and state lobbying and customer experience management expertise to successfully launch and operate projects. The Connect approach is to work exclusively with electric cooperatives to launch and deploy high-speed fiber-optic networks - the gold standard of communications transmission - enabling them to offer world-class fiber broadband to 100% of their members.
