Missouri’s White River Connect Ready for Rapid Fiber Expansion
Randy Sukow
|
White River Valley Electric Cooperative (WRVEC) in Branson, MO, has plans for near-term expansion of its fiber internet service to the most unserved and underserved communities in Southwest Missouri. Its construction project, which began in June 2023, currently covers Branson and three other substation areas. If construction crews continue working at their current pace, subsidiary White River Connect hopes to be signing subscribers in nine other substation areas within the next eight months.
“This is not a simple task by far, but the White River employees are up to the challenge and are excited to see how high-speed internet impacts your communities’ healthcare, schools and your livelihood,” said WRVEC’s CEO Chris Hamon during the co-op’s recent annual meeting.
The network currently covers 1,800 miles, representing about 45 percent of the project coverage, Beau Jackson, CEO of White River Connect said during the meeting. Currently it is serving about 800 subscribers, “and that number is increasing quickly every week,” he said.
White River Connect offers three service tiers at 100 Mbps; 300 Mbps and 1 Gbps symmetrical speeds. “There is a big value to the upload speed being the same as the download speed. It offers huge benefits to how we use the internet today and, in the future,” Jackson said.
Rapid fiber construction is prompting an increase in hiring at White River Connect, said Angie O’Dell, VP and chief administration officer. Hiring for a fiber ISP requires following a new set of FCC regulations and other processes the electric cooperative has not faced in the past. Both Jackson and O’Dell emphasized that White River Connect is building a new business from the ground up.
NRTC has been assisting with the project from its beginning and helped WRVEC win $47 million in support from Missouri’s Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program in early 2023. Pictured above, NRTC Regional Business Manager Steve Hanson (left) recently met with Jackson and Hamon at WRVEC offices.
