Fiber to the Home
What Can I Do Now
Please make sure the contact information on your account is up to date. This will make it easy for us to share details, such as location and availability, once they have been finalized. You can also visit our website and social pages to learn about the progression of the project.
We look forward to building a world-class fiber network that will transform our rural communities just as our founders did with electric 83 years ago.
Tune in here and follow our social pages for updates on the project.
For FTTH projects, our current contractors are the following companies: Lee Inspections, NRTC, Osmose, Toth and Associates & BBC Electric.
Only WRVEC, WRC, and above contractors are approved to work on your property. Any other person or company representative is not an authorized representative of the Cooperative and its subsidiary White River Connect. Please contact your local authorities if you suspect suspicious behavior.
Project at a glance
2021
- White River Valley Electric Cooperative conducts feasibility study to consider costs, the need for rural area internet connection, terrain, technology, and funding.
2022
- Membership surveyed to solidify vast need of reliable internet service across the area. Board casts unanimous vote to extend fiber internet service through subsidiary business.
- Beau Jackson announced as the CEO of White River Technologies.
2023
- White River Connect chosen as the name and branding assets created.
- White River Connect awarded $47.3 million grant from Missouri’s Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program.
- Field data collection, make ready, and construction start on the 5-year fiber build out project. Construction is expected to start in 3rd quarter.
2024
- High speed internet services planned to be offered to first customers.
FAQS
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White River Valley Electric Cooperative will soon be offering a robust fiber optic system to serve its members. This system will help create reliable internet service for members even in the most rural areas. This network will ensure that members have access to the most up-to-date technology in today’s world.
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Fiber-optic internet, commonly known as “fiber”, is a broadband internet connection using light to transmit data through glass fibers. This technology allows for internet speeds that are faster and more reliable than your typical DSL and cable internet.
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Access to reliable high-speed fiber drives economic development and, in today’s world, is essential to every community.
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The co-op made a commitment to make high-speed internet service available to all members by the end of our 5-year buildout. We stand behind our commitments. Timelines of certain areas may be adjusted because construction will adhere to funding guidelines, among other considerations, but service will eventually be available to all our members.
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The cost of power and materials continue to rise. We have shouldered those expenses for several years without an increase but it’s not sustainable long-term. Most of our neighboring utilities have increased rates already because of that. It wouldn’t occur specifically from the fiber project.
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There are several things that determine where we start such as headend locations and redundancy. Forestry and railroad permitting plays a big role. Grant obligations will also dictate certain locations timelines. We are working through these items in our design phase now.
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Based on current supply chain and permitting, the project is estimated to cost $260 million.
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White River Connect will be competitive with market prices while delivering fast, symmetrical speeds with reliable service. We will also subscribe to the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is an income-qualifying program for subscribers to receive up to $30 credit on their bills each month.
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Our members are our priority; however, we do have plans to work with others to extend our network and provide additional connectivity to non-members areas that don’t have adequate access to fast, reliable internet service.
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Our team is working to ensure all our members have access to reliable internet within five years. Funding, permitting, and the system design all factor into what areas will receive access first. We already have boots on the ground in many areas and look forward to construction starting this summer.
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White River Connect will offer up to gig speeds for residential services. These speeds will be symmetrical download and upload.
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We are evaluating billing options now. We are looking at the potential for bills to arrive in the same envelope, but they will be separate bills.
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With multiple routes for data transmission, we will be building a redundant system that remains reliable in all times of day.
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Construction will begin this summer, and we will start adding subscribers to the network as soon as early 2024.
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To help provide our subscribers with affordable rates, we plan to utilize the Electric Cooperative’s existing infrastructure, whenever possible. That includes both overhead and underground.
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Fiber internet services will be delivered by White River Connect and will be available to members as well as non-members. Being a for-profit subsidiary, subscribers will not be allocated patronage capital. However, plans will be highly competitive.
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The project is being funded through local, state, and federal grants. We are also working with our banking partners to ensure adequate funding for the buildout.
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$9.3 million was committed between 3 different counties to use as a local match to help us secure the larger grants available such as the $47 million. The community support has played a big role.
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White River Connect will be offering symmetrical speeds up to a gig. That means whether you are uploading photos downloading them, it will take the same amount of time and streaming multiple devices at the same fast speeds.
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We will deliver best-in-class service with this project. While we will start onboarding fiber employees this year, our staffing will be scaled based on our number of subscribers.
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At this point, our plan is to use existing facilities.
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National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative is a cooperative that assists electric co-ops like us with feasibility studies, network design, and deployment of internet services.