Co-op gives Sprout internet update to chamber of commerce members

Sep. 18—The Cullman Electric Cooperative's Sprout fiber internet continues to expand across Cullman County, and representatives from the co-op gave an update on the co-op's progress and plans for the future at the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce's Community Luncheon Friday afternoon.

Co-op Communications Manager Brian Lacy spoke to chamber members about the co-op's experience over the past year getting the internet service off the ground and Sprout Marketing Coordinator Bonnie Baty spoke about the co-op's planning effort to eventually provide high-speed fiber internet to every member.

Lacy said there are large sections of the co-op's coverage area in Cullman and Winston Counties that have residents who report that they either have no internet coverage at all or lack an internet service that provides broadband speeds.

"We knew that we didn't have adequate internet service in our service area, and that we, potentially, could be in a position to do something about that as the electric utility for the area," he said.

Once the decision was made at the co-op to move forward with the project to provide fiber internet, employees then had to educate themselves on the service and learn how to navigate a new business model, he said.

Lacy said one of the biggest questions for the co-op was asking if some new, better type of service was going to come around right after the fiber project was complete, but fiber internet travels at the speed of light, so it would require something breaking that barrier to be better.

"That falls under the realm of 'Anything is possible,' but we feel pretty confident that a light speed internet connection is going to stand the test of time," he said.

Lacy said Sprout is also installing fibers directly to each customer, so every home has its own dedicated connection and people will not see their internet slowed by their neighbors' usage like they may see with other services.

For Phase 1 of the Sprout service, the co-op has installed the main line fiber in a clockwise pattern its service area, centering around connecting its electrical substations to make sure they have the best internet possible.

The installation of that main line is close to 75 percent completed, and is projected to be completed in the spring of 2022, he said.

Co-op members near the main line installation are included in the first phase of the service, and the co-op just had its 1,000th customer sign up for the service, Lacy said.

With the end of Phase 1 in sight, Baty gave an update on the planning process for the co-op to decide which areas will be included in the next phase and how the co-op will accomplish its goal of providing fiber internet to everyone in its service area.

She said the two main questions that the co-op gets from members are when Sprout will be coming to their house and why the service is not yet there.

Before the service got off the ground, the co-op's feasibility studies showed that it would be a five to six year process to provide the service to all of its members — and that was before COVID-19 and the affects it has had on materials and workers, Baty said.

"Lots of things fall into play when you're talking about putting a project of this magnitude into a timeline," she said.

To keep the project manageable, the co-op is taking the approach that one would take when eating an elephant: one bite at a time, Baty said.

"You have to break it down into something that is manageable," she said. "Knowing that we will get Sprout fiber internet to everyone who gets their power from Cullman Electric."

Baty said Phase 1 was broken down into seasons, with each area included given a seasonal estimate — such as Spring 2021 for Fairview or Winter 2021 for West Point — for when the service would arrive there, and the next phases will continue to follow that same model.

For those wondering if they will be in the next phase of the service, Baty said the co-op is considering several factors when deciding which areas to move into.

Those factors include considering consumer demand, serving underserved areas, enhancing operational benefits, being fiscally responsible and looking for opportunities for grant funding.

Baty said gauging the interest of an area is important, as the co-op wants to provide Sprout for the areas that are asking for the service. The interest form found at cullmanec.com/sprout will let people know whether they are included in the first phase of the project, but it also lets the co-op know who else is interested and where they live, she said.

Baty said serving underserved areas was one of the original reasons why Cullman Electric decided to move into the fiber internet business, so planning for the next steps has to consider those areas to make sure they get the service they need.

Another reason why the co-op has moved to provide fiber internet is that it will enhance its main service of providing electricity to the area, so making sure the next phases connect to the main line to form a grid with redundancies is also important, she said.

Baty said the co-op is funded fully by its members, so the co-op's workers have to be smart with how they spend that money and have to consider which areas will provide the most revenue if Sprout moves there.

The final factor is the opportunity for grant funding when considering the next phases, she said. Grants can be a big help for funding, but some of them also come with strict rules and stipulations, so the co-op has to be sure that it can follow those restrictions if it does get a grant to help expand Sprout into a new area, she said.

Baty said Phase 1 of Sprout is projected to be finished by Spring 2022 and the co-op is working now to plan the next phase for the rest of 2022, and will be using the above factors when making the decisions about the areas that the next phase will include.

Baty encouraged anyone interested in Sprout to visit cullmanec.com/sprout to fill out the interest form. For those who fill out the form and find that they can sign up now or will be able to sign up as part of Phase 1, she encouraged them to do so, and for those who are not included in the first phase, their interest will be noted by filling out that form.

"We will continue to work toward our goal of branching off what has already been built and planning to keep Sprout growing as long as the need is there, members are subscribing and other members continue to express interest in additional areas," she said.