Covington Electric Cooperative Announces FTTH Broadband Project
b'HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --During its recent Virtual Annual Meeting, Covington Electric Cooperative (CEC) announced its decision to launch a broadband service for its membership.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- During its recent Virtual Annual Meeting, Covington Electric Cooperative (CEC) announced its decision to launch a broadband service for its membership. A subsidiary company called Buzz Broadband will retail the service and is projected to begin connecting customers in the fall of this year. CEC provides electrical service to more than 23,600 meters in parts of six counties.
CEC's leadership is committed to making gigabit speed fiber access available to every member by 2025. "COVID 19 pointed out specific shortcomings in our service territory," according to Ed Short, CEO, General Manager and President of CEC. "Broadband is vital to our schools, businesses, members working from home, telemedicine and economic development. Our students did not have adequate bandwidth to do their classwork from home when everything shut down due to the pandemic." To ensure adequate bandwidth for the long term, CEC chose XGS PON technology that enables broadband services well above 1Gigabit.
CEC has teamed with Huntsville, Alabama-based FiberRise to provide project oversight, from funding support and financial modeling through construction, operation, and customer service. "We chose FiberRise to help us bring a high-speed utility grade fiber network to our membership," said Mark Parker, SVP and COO of CEC. " FiberRise brings the fiber knowledge and expertise that CEC needs to make the project a success."
"FiberRise is proud to work with the CEC team in establishing an impactful broadband service for the individual and the community," said Tommy Harmon, FiberRise CEO. "CEC's dedication to their membership is inspiring, and this partnership helps us in fulfilling our mission to bridge the Digital Divide."
About Covington Electric Corporation
CEC is an electric distribution cooperative, built by the communities it serves to deliver reliable and affordable energy. CEC is a community-focused organization, providing jobs and investing in the community through programs like Bright Ideas, Scholarships, Relay for Life, Meredith's Miracles, Community Christmas, Economic Development, Electrical Safety Demonstrations and Youth Tour. CEC covers 2,700 miles of power lines across six counties and is dedicated to serving its membership by maintaining and developing infrastructure and new technologies that improve the quality of life for everyone.
About FiberRise
FiberRise, LLC enables electric utilities to implement and maintain fiber infrastructure with complete business visibility and simplicity in the delivery of broadband services. FiberRise serves electrical cooperatives and investor-owned utilities throughout the South and has a proven track record of winning state and federal grant awards for its customers, including CAF, CAF II and Reconnect programs. FiberRise manages fiber projects from inception and construction through operations and maintenance with high-touch service and support. FiberRise focuses on quality of life by helping to make broadband affordable and accessible to all. For more information, please visit us at http://www.fiber-rise.com.
Media Contact
Tommy Harmon, CEO, FiberRise, +1 (256) 269-4700, [email protected]
David Williams, FiberRise, 256-269-4700, [email protected]
SOURCE FiberRise
