Ready for KUB internet? 35K houses in these Knoxville areas will get fiber access in 2023

Silas Sloan, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read

About 35,500 more households will get access to Knoxville Utilities Board high-speed fiber internet by the end of the year.

Knoxville-area neighborhoods getting KUB internet access this year:

  • July: about 3,000 homes in Grainger and Union County

  • August: about 8,500 homes in South Knoxville

  • September: about 10,000 homes north of downtown in Mechanicsville and West View areas

  • December: about 14,000 homes in southwest Knox County near Northshore Drive.

That's in addition to the 20,000 KUB customers in Inskip, Morningside, Park City and other parts of East Tennessee who have already gotten access.

A map showing which areas will have access to KUB Fiber internet in phase one, which ends in December.
A map showing which areas will have access to KUB Fiber internet in phase one, which ends in December.

Director of KUB fiber operations Andrew Hmielewski said the rollout is on track, even amid supply chain issues to get materials.

Phase two of the rollout will begin in January.

KUB Fiber: Answering your frequently asked questions

When will everyone have KUB internet?

KUB’s Jeff Waller, left, and Bucky Bayless splice fiber as KUB installs fiber between two Knoxville substations as part of the utility’s efforts to continue improving its electrical system on Monday, May 24, 2021. KUB plans to offer high-speed municipal broadband as its fifth utility.
KUB’s Jeff Waller, left, and Bucky Bayless splice fiber as KUB installs fiber between two Knoxville substations as part of the utility’s efforts to continue improving its electrical system on Monday, May 24, 2021. KUB plans to offer high-speed municipal broadband as its fifth utility.

The rollout has five years left, according to Hmielewski, and about 214,000 homes and businesses will have access to KUB internet by 2028. Anyone who gets electric services from KUB will be able to get internet.

"We're moving as fast as we can," Hmielewski said. "We're really trying to get as many customers as possible and people are excited for (KUB Fiber) to be here."

You can find out when you will be eligible to get KUB Fiber by visiting kub.org/fiber-availability.

KUB customers could be eligible for a price drop

One of the biggest priorities for KUB is to bring internet to underserved communities and rural areas that don't have reliable access.

Hmielewski said KUB has rolled out the Affordable Connectivity Program, which allows qualifying customers to receive $30 off their monthly bill. The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company and overseen by the Federal Communications Commission.

To see if you qualify and to apply, call KUB at 865-524-2911 or visit www.affordableconnectivity.gov.

What about KUB internet for businesses?

Connor Wheaton downloads files at Pink Moon recording studio in East Knoxville on May 24. Pink Moon is one of thousands of KUB customers that now have KUB Fiber, available to residential and commercial customers.
Connor Wheaton downloads files at Pink Moon recording studio in East Knoxville on May 24. Pink Moon is one of thousands of KUB customers that now have KUB Fiber, available to residential and commercial customers.

As KUB Fiber becomes more available, businesses in those areas also can get high-speed internet.

For Pink Moon recording studio on Fifth Avenue, the speed has been a gamechanger.

Connor Wheaton, producer and manager at Pink Moon, said the studio has had KUB internet for about two months and it's been more cheaper, more reliable and faster than its previous service. He can immediately send artists their recordings after the session is over, rather than having to wait hours.

Wheaton said better internet has allowed Pink Moon to Zoom with artists in different cities to work on post-production for songs together, a new facet of the business.

Wheaton said he was paying four to five times more with his previous provider, and most of that was for services he never used.

How much does KUB Fiber cost?

KUB offers three different internet plans for residential homes:

  • The Gig: 1 gigabit per second upload and download speed, $65 a month

  • The Gig 2.5: 2.5 gigabits per second upload and download speed, $150 a month

  • The Gig 10: 10 gigabits per second upload and download speed, $300 a month.

KUB offers three internet packages for businesses:

  • Business Connect: 500 megabits per second upload and download speed, $85 a month

  • The Gig at Work: 1 gigabit per second upload and download speed, $150 a month

  • Custom Connect Pro: A custom plan that varies by size and price depending on the business' needs.

To sign up for KUB Fiber for your home or business, visit KUB.org/fiber-shopping.

Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: KUB fiber internet coming to these Knoxville areas in 2023