The final phase of fiber internet installation in rural Stone County is poised to begin, Yelcot Communications officials told the Leader recently.
Company President Sara Zimmerman said they are awaiting approval of environmental studies and finalization of loan documents before beginning work for ReConnect 5 in the Flag area of southwest Stone County.
Work to install fiber – most of which will be in aerial lines in this phase – will progress from Flag, to Fox, to Timbo initially. Crews from Palmetto Engineering will be in the areas first, followed by Klaasmeyer Construction. Stringing cables, splicing for service locations, inspecting and then connecting customers will take time.
“It’s a time consuming process. It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Ladd Sims, outside plant manager.
Letters will go out to customers to let them know workers will be in the area, and they will ask for good phone numbers so that when it is time to connect individual residences, it can be done more efficiently, Zimmerman said.
At each residence or business, the interface to connect to Yelcot must be replaced. The box on the outside of the building will be upgraded, and modems called GigaSpires are installed inside. These modems have ports for phone and internet connections.
Once fiber has been installed, homeowners will want to assure that their computers are capable of handling increased speed to get the full benefit. Each customer having a GigaSpire will simplify customer service because there will not be various modems in use or other variables involved with copper phone lines. Fiber is not as susceptible to issues with water or lightning.
“With fiber, it either works or it doesn’t,” Sims said. “It’s a laser shot down a glass pipe.”
In addition, Sims said the GigaSpire modems enable customers to set up guest networks or other parameters to control bandwidth usage and better manage devices in the home. Refrigerators, thermostats, and security cameras can all use internet now, and quality cameras can use large portions of bandwidth.
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