Construction Update April 2021

3:01PM March 31, 2021

Construction Updates by Zone

Overall Update: The winter weather (especially February) made for a very challenging start to 2021, but we are nearly fully staffed with our contract crews and construction is accelerating as we make our way through the rainy season.  To date, we have built over 1,100 miles of distribution and backbone fiber, and we have activated over 5,000 members with best-in-class broadband service.

We are hopeful that we will be able to complete the distribution construction to most of our unserved membership by the end of 2021, with activations likely flowing into the first quarter of 2022.  Any smaller unserved areas not completed in 2021 (as well as some of the Smithville partnership zones) will be completed in 2022.  As a reminder, our project officially started in 2018, and our first span of fiber was constructed in June of 2018.  Our goal was to ensure that all our membership had access to reliable high-speed internet within 5 years (June of 2023).  Despite the challenges related to COVID, we remain on track to meet this goal!  The chart below shows the numbers of active accounts by zone.   Construction Updates by Zone

As a reminder, phone service is now available for members that have SCI Fiber. Contact our office at 833.444.2504 for pricing and additional information.  

Please see below for estimated timelines related to zones being constructed in 2021. Please remember that there are many factors that could change these timelines! 

-IN SERVICE ZONES-

Construction including drops is complete for Brooklyn 102, Brooklyn 104, Brooklyn 105, Cope 101, Cope 102, Cope 104, Drop Zone 1, Martinsville SE, Needmore 102, Needmore 103, Needmore 104, Paragon 101, Park Ave 101, Park Ave 104, Princes Lakes 103, Bean Blossom 101 and Bean Blossom 102 (except for a few smaller areas awaiting permits/licenses).  New orders for these zones are continually coming in.  Our target is to provide service to any new orders in these zones within 3-6 weeks of registering, weather permitting.  

-ZONES IN CONSTRUCTION-

East Madison 103 & 104: Distribution construction is completed, and drops are being installed with activations ongoing.  We expect the drops/activations to be completed by mid-April.

Ellettsville 101:  Distribution construction is ongoing, and drops/activations are expected to start in May and conclude in June.

Ellettsville 105:  Distribution construction has just begun, and drops/activations are expected to start in July and conclude in the fall.

Heartland 104:  Distribution construction just completed and drops/activations will start in early April, running through early May. 

Princes Lakes 101: Construction of the distribution fiber is ongoing, with drops and activations expected to start in June.  This is a large zone, so drops are expected to continue through summer.

Princes Lakes 104:  Construction of the distribution fiber is ongoing, with the first drops and activations expected to start in April and conclude in summer. 

Wilbur 103:  Distribution construction is ongoing, and drops/activations are expected to start in early summer and into the fall.

SCI REMC/Smithville Partnership – Rodeo: Distribution construction is complete, with drop construction/activations starting shortly.  Members residing in Rodeo will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service.

SCI REMC/Smithville Partnership – Ellettsville South:  Distribution construction is nearing completion, with drop construction/activations expected to start early summer.  Members residing in Ellettsville South will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service. 

SCI REMC/Smithville Partnership – McNeely:  Distribution construction is underway, with drop construction/activations expected to start in the fall.  Members residing in McNeely will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service. 

-ZONES SCHEDULED FOR CONSTRUCTION IN 2021-

Brummetts Creek 103: Distribution construction is expected to start in May, with drops/activations starting in July and concluding in late summer/early fall.

Brummetts Creek 104: Distribution construction is expected to start in June, with drops/activations starting in August and concluding in the fall.

Brummetts Creek 105: Brummetts Creek 105 is a large zone. Distribution construction is expected to start in September and continue through until year-end.  Drops and activations are expected to start in late 2021 and conclude in early 2022.

Carp 101: Distribution construction is expected to start in July, with drops/activations starting in September and running through the fall.

Carp 102: Distribution construction is expected to start in August, with drops/activations starting in October and running into the winter.

Dolan 105:  Distribution construction is expected to start in April, with drops/activations starting in late summer and going into fall.

Heartland 103:  Distribution construction is expected to start in the fall, with drops starting late in 2021.

Paragon 102: Distribution construction is expected to start in May, with drops/activations starting in July and concluding in fall.

Romona 101: Distribution construction is expected to start in April, with drops/activations starting in June and concluding in fall.

Romona 103: Distribution construction is expected to start in May, with drops/activations starting in August and concluding in the fall.

Romona 104: Distribution construction is expected to start in May, with drops/activations starting in August and concluding in the fall.

Spencer (North and South): Spencer is a large zone. Distribution construction has just started and is expected to continue through June.  Drops and activations will start shortly after and continue into fall.

Stader 104: Distribution construction is expected to start in April, with drops/activations starting in June and going through summer.

Backbone:   We continue to construct backbone fiber throughout our system ahead of the distribution fiber.  The backbone is used to interconnect our substations enabling smart grid technology to improve the safety and reliability of our electric distribution system. In addition, it provides fiber connectivity from our headend to your home.  Construction is currently focusing on building backbone along the southern and northern portions of our system to create “rings.”  These rings provide redundant paths from the substations back to our headend.  This means that if one path, for some reason, gets cut, the system will automatically redirect traffic to the backup path and prevent a service outage to our electric distribution devices as well as your home.