Getting Connected

November 2023

Rapid Fiber Internet Brings Cutting-Edge Technologies to SVEC Consumer Members

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for students in our region during the pandemic, times were desperate. Internet connectivity was so subpar many students were unable to access their homework electronically when COVID-19 forced schools to close.

Then came a solution. Instead of transporting students, school buses in the territory were used to ferry homework assignments to students’ homes, offering an entirely unexpected twist on remote learning.

This disparity in educational opportunities motivated Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative’s (SVEC) trustees, CEO Michael McWaters and others on the leadership team to take definitive steps to bring SVEC consumer-members access to education, telehealth and other essential online services. McWaters believes cooperatives are exactly the right vehicle for providing this vital service.

“We’ve spent 87 years working for our members and we want to expand and build on that relationship to be the hometown internet provider,” McWaters says. “In addition to meeting the internet needs of our members, a key component for our fiber project is that our members are going to own this fiber optic network for generations to come.”

Bringing Broadband Home

In response to the growing need for broadband connectivity, the SVEC Board of Trustees decided a fiber-tothe- home network was the optimal solution to serve consumer-members’ broadband needs.

SVEC quickly joined broadband initiatives within the state, including local technology planning teams mandated by the state of Florida. To determine the need for broadband in rural areas, these teams conducted speed tests in their communities. The deficiency in broadband services was stark, though unsurprising. Of the 4,000-plus SVEC consumer-members who participated, nearly 93% experienced download speeds below 100 Mbps.

The need for a faster, more reliable connection was apparent. McWaters remembers 1 consumer-member who struggled to access the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map to determine whether her location was considered served, unserved or underserved. After 10 minutes of futile searching, she gave up, saying, “I don’t have good enough broadband service to help you prove I don’t have good broadband service.”

During that early stage of the project, SVEC enlisted the services of Conexon, a rural fiber optic network design and construction management leader. As a broadband consultant, Conexon provides network design, construction project management, engineering and operations support services for the project.

Building a Network

Since launching Rapid Fiber Internet in June 2022, SVEC has secured $37 million in grants and the 1st of 3 construction phases is now well under way. Crews have replaced 643 poles, added 1,540 more, hung over 325 miles of fiber optic cable and relocated 3,115 pole-mounted devices. What’s more, co-op members in the 1st 2 completed zones of the network have been signing up for service.

The entire $93 million network is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, giving every 1 of SVEC’s consumer-members access to fiber-fast broadband. As McWaters reflects on his 29-year journey in the electric co-op industry, he struggles to think of a project that has had a bigger impact for him or the membership.

“Being a part of this project has been very rewarding for me,” he says. “It’s the closest thing I’ll ever experience in my lifetime to the original co-op mission of electrifying rural America. It’s neat to have the opportunity, at this stage, 87 years later, to be involved in something very similar to what transpired in 1937.”