Construction Update June 2020
6:01PM June 10, 2020
Construction Updates By Zone
Overall Update:
We have approximately 850 miles of distribution and backbone fiber constructed, and over 2,800 members currently with service. Due to COVID-19, we needed to dramatically slow down fiber construction and in-home installations from late March through mid-May. We are excited to say that we are back! We have been ramping up and over the last few weeks and have regained our pace of 60 new connections/per week. Residential phone service is now available for members that have SCI Fiber. Contact our office at 833.444.2504 for pricing and additional information.
Fiber Optic Splice Closures: You may have seen black cylinders (shown below) hanging from various utility poles in areas where SCI Fiber has been installed. These cylinders are fiber optic splice closures, where the fiber distribution terminates and the drop to your home starts. Depending on the size, up to 12 individual drops can come from one of these closures, which is why they are left hanging at the base of the pole until all drops are installed. Once all the drops are installed, the splice closure will be relocated and lashed to the mainline fiber. If you do see one laying on the ground, please contact SCI REMC at 833.444.2504 to get it properly suspended. The fibers inside are made of very thin glass, and can be damaged easily if they are not properly handled.
Please see below for a status update of the zones that are currently in construction.
Bean Blossom 101: Construction of the distribution fiber is over 80% completed. Drop construction is expected to start in mid to late summer, with the first services being activated shortly after that. Most services are expected to be active by the end of 2020. There are currently 560 members signed up for service.
Bean Blossom 102: Drops are being installed, and in-home installations are ongoing. There are currently 534 members signed up for service in this zone, with 49 active services. Most services are expected to be active by late summer.
Brooklyn 102: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 66 members currently in service with another 16 ready for in-home installs.
Brooklyn 104: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 28 members currently in service with another 7 ready for in-home installs.
Brooklyn 105: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 212 members currently in service with another 29 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
East Madison 103 & 104: Construction is expected to resume in the coming weeks, with drop installations expected to begin in late summer. There are over 200 members currently signed up for service in these two zones.
Cope 101: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 94 members currently in service with another 15 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Cope 102: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 406 members currently in service with a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Cope 104: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 295 members currently in service with a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Drop Zone 1: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 217 members currently in service with a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Martinsville SE 101: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 289 members currently in service with a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Needmore 102: Nearly complete-but taking new orders. We have 104 members currently in service with another 27 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Needmore 103: Nearly complete-but taking new orders. We have 203 members currently in service with another 32 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Needmore 104: Nearly complete-but taking new orders. We have 118 members currently in service with another 12 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Paragon 101: Construction is complete and drops/service activations are expected to start by the end of June, with most services activated by the end of summer.
Park Ave 101: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 376 members currently in service with another 19 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Park Ave 104: In-service, but taking new orders. We have 358 members currently in service with another 17 ready for in-home installs. There are also a number of new sign-ups in various stages of construction.
Princes Lakes 103: Construction of the distribution fiber is underway, ramping back up from the COVID-19 slowdown. Construction of the distribution fiber should be completed in late July with drops starting in August. Most services should be active by late Fall.
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.
