Progress Report September 1, 2024
The final 20 miles…
After completing over 1,800 miles of fiber installation in the seven-parish NELPCO footprint, only 20 miles of construction remains for the buildout of the Volt Broadband network. As we move into September, construction should wrap up in the South Franklin area and the Como community, which serves both Franklin and Tensas Parishes. As this work continues, the completion of the necessary splices for the taps remains a priority, as this provides the connection points for the drops to the customer’s home or business.
As of the first of this month, Volt will have over 4,600 active customers and will have completed over 5,000 drops to homes and businesses within the network. The percentage of potential NELPCO customers who choose the Volt Broadband service (a/k/a the “take rate”) continues in the 50% range as service is opened in the remaining areas. In other locales that have been established during the construction process, the take rate is approaching 60% as customers continue to sign up for this service.
We anticipate that our South Franklin areas will see service availability this month. In the Como area, serving both Franklin and Tensas Parishes, we expect services to become available in late summer to early fall. Even as we approach the completion of this project, we continue to look for ways to better serve our customers. We are working to improve our installation process to provide “same day” drop and equipment installation, which will help speed up our delivery of service.
Reviews of the Volt Broadband service continue to be positive regarding the ease of installation, the quality of the product, and our service after installation. We hear from people each day how it’s been a game-changer for many of our customers. Volt Broadband has made it easier for NELPCO members to work from home, conduct business online, see their doctor, watch their favorite television show, view instructional videos on YouTube, and even attend classes.
Reliable broadband service is as much of a game-changer today for rural customers as electricity was 86 years ago when NELPCO began building its electrical network. We remain very pleased to bring this state-of-the-art service to all our NELPCO members. We invite you to visit our website at http://www.voltbroadband.com to see how you can sign up for this unique service available to our cooperative membership.
Our home office is located at 150 Christian Street in Rayville and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.