Network expansion builds on existing projects, will ultimately reach more than 30,000 rural homes and businesses with multi-gigabit-speed internet
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 28, 2024 – Conexon Connect, the internet service provider (ISP) formed by rural fiber-optic network leader Conexon, is expanding its high-speed fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network throughout Missouri and recently celebrated its first customers connected in underserved areas of rural Wayne County. Currently, the ISP is poised to reach more than 30,000 rural homes and businesses in its headquarters state of Missouri.
The Missouri FTTH expansion builds on Connect projects in partnership with Osage Valley Electric Cooperative and Sac Osage Electric Cooperative to build FTTH networks spanning 15 counties in Missouri.
Conexon Connect’s FTTH network expansion is another key milestone as the ISP works to fulfill its commitments to rural America with awards received from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and American Rescue Plan Act to deliver high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved areas of the country.
In addition to delivering FTTH access to the communities and members served by Sac Osage Electric Cooperative and Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, and areas within Wayne County, fiber broadband will also be available to communities within Barton, Bollinger, Dent, Iron, Jasper, Reynolds, and Shannon counties.
Conexon has a long history in Missouri partnering with the state’s electric cooperatives to deploy FTTH networks. Conexon Founding Partner and co-CEO, Randy Klindt, led the initial conception, construction, and operations for Co-Mo Connect, one of the nation’s first electric cooperative FTTH projects. Conexon’s current Missouri fiber network projects – including partnerships with five electric co-ops – collectively reach more than 170,000 rural Missourians. Nationwide, Conexon and its partners reach nearly 3 million rural Americans with fiber broadband.
"Expanding our footprint and the availability of high-speed fiber internet to more rural communities across our home state is especially gratifying,” Klindt said. “Every project we launch reinforces to our entire team the importance of access to high-speed internet for the rural areas and residents we serve. Broadband is key to their economic success and long-term viability, and we’re proud to play a role in that.”
Connect’s fiber-optic network offers Missouri homes and businesses access to symmetrical, (same upload and download speeds) multi-gigabit internet capabilities – among the fastest and most robust in the nation. Symmetrical capabilities allow for lag-free streaming, easier access to telemedicine and enhanced work-from-home capabilities and productivity, among other benefits. The FTTH network will also provide reliable, clear phone service.
About Conexon
Conexon is an industry-leading broadband network design, construction and operations firm working with electric cooperatives, communities and other entities to deploy fiber to the home across rural America. Since its inception a decade ago, Conexon has collaborated with electric cooperatives across 80 markets to launch and deploy fiber-to-the-home networks in their territories, with more than 20 projects now reaching 100 percent of members. The company’s internet service provider, Conexon Connect, today delivers multi-gigabit speed internet across many of those markets. Through Conexon’s work with its partners, nearly 3 million rural Americans now have access to fiber to the home, with more than 1.1 million connected. The company has designed more than 200,000 miles of fiber and builds more than 50,000 miles annually. With more than $2 billion in federal, state, and local grants and subsidies funding for FTTH projects, Conexon and its partners have collectively secured more federal broadband funding for fiber construction than any other group in the country.