Construction Update December 2020

8:15PM December 17, 2020

Construction Updates by Zone

Overall Update: We have over 1,000 miles of distribution and backbone fiber constructed, and 4,300 members currently in service.  Additional system and drop construction crews have arrived, and we are making our end of year construction push before the weather slows construction down.  The chart below shows the total number of active accounts 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 a status update of the zones that are currently in construction.

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, and Park Ave 104.  New orders are continually coming in.  Our goal is to provide any new order in these zones with service within 3-6 weeks of registering.  

Bean Blossom 101: This is a very large zone at nearly 100 miles in length.  Construction of the distribution fiber is completed other than for a few railroad crossings awaiting permits. Drop construction is also nearing completion with the bulk of members being in service.  We expect to continue doing drop construction for registered accounts in this zone for the remainder of this year—please sign up asap if you haven’t already!

Bean Blossom 102: This is also a very large zone.  Construction of the distribution fiber is completed other than for a small section along Clay Lick Road, which is currently under construction with expected completion in January.  The vast majority of members requesting service have their drops completed and are activated or awaiting in-home installations.  

East Madison 103 & 104: Distribution construction is nearing completion on both of these zones.  Delays were experienced related to splicing labor, which has been addressed and expected to be completed by mid-January.  Drops will start in January as well, with activations beginning shortly afterward.  

Heartland 104:  Construction of the distribution fiber is going very well, with expected completion in January. Splicing will begin shortly after, with drop construction expected to begin in February.  The first service activations could begin in March.

Princes Lakes 101: Construction of the distribution fiber is behind schedule due to labor shortages, with only 25% being completed.  We have recently brought in additional contractors to help move the project along.  Construction is expected to be completed in early spring, with drops and activations starting in May.  

Princes Lakes 103: Construction of the distribution fiber is complete and drops and in-home installations have started.  We expect that most currently registered members will have service by the end of February if weather allows us to continue working.

Princes Lakes 104:  Construction of the distribution fiber is behind schedule due to labor shortages, with only 30% being completed.  We have recently brought in additional contractors to help move the project along.  Construction is expected to be completed by March, with drops and activations starting in early spring. 

Ellettsville 101:  Construction of the distribution fiber is going very well with about 50% completed.  Construction is expected to be completed in January, with splicing starting shortly after.  Drop construction is expected to start in early Spring with activations shortly after.

Ellettsville 105:  Construction of the distribution fiber is expected to start immediately after Ellettsville 101 (late January or February).  Construction is expected to be completed before summer, with drops starting shortly after.

SCI REMC and Smithville Partnership

• Smithville Partnership – Rodeo:  Construction of the distribution fiber is complete, but splicing has been delayed due to COVID related material shortages.  The materials have arrived this week, so splicing and testing is expected to finish in January—allowing for drop construction to start.  Members residing in Rodeo will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service. 

• Smithville Partnership – Ellettsville South:  Construction of the distribution fiber is completed, and awaiting splicing.  Due to material shortages, the spicing will likely be delayed to late January with completion in February—allowing for drop construction to start.  Members residing in Ellettsville South will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service.

• Smithville Partnership – McNeely:  Construction of the distribution fiber is approximately 25% completed with construction expected to be completed in the Spring. Drops are expected to begin in late Spring.  Members residing in McNeely will have a choice between Smithville and SCI for service.

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 the 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.

ALL OTHER ZONES: Please click here for the status of your zone.