Project Update for Friday, July 28, 2023

Work continues on the Volt Broadband network currently under construction across the NELPCO territory.

As of today, there are well over 1,600 residential and commercial customers connected to the fiber optic network in several parishes, including Richland, Franklin, and Morehouse Parishes.

The Archibald 3 feeder has been opened, which includes the Highway 132 area toward the Delhi area. In addition, construction is continuing in the Oak Grove area, and working back westward toward Holly Ridge. The Oak Grove feeder is expected to be completed in early-September, which will set in to motion service drops and installations in that area for those who have confirmed their service.

In the Crowville 1 and 2 area, customers will soon see right of way clearing begin, and make-ready construction to begin in their area prior to the end of the year. This area is in the Lamar Church/WPA Road area eastward over into Madison Parish and the Warsaw community.

As with any project of this size, there are unforeseen issues that must be dealt with. An example of that are the five railroad crossings in the Archibald 1 feeder. Securing the necessary permits and scheduling the construction around the train schedules has left us somewhat at the mercy of the railroads, which impacts construction in those areas despite our early permit requests.

The subsequent construction slowdown for matters like this does impact the overall project in that if drops for service are delayed, then installations will ultimately be delayed.

Fortunately, these issues are in the process of being resolved.

Other factors that have impacted the project are weather along with the ever-present supply chain issues that have become a common problem for most everyone on some level since the pandemic. It certainly has caused issues during this construction process, but we are working every day to mitigate their impact on our work.

The good news is that the “take rate”, which is a percentage of eligible customers in the NELPCO footprint who have opted in for the internet service when it becomes available in their area, stands at 40%, with some areas approaching 60%!

And, the fact that there have been no service cancellations during this time speaks volumes for the service itself, and denotes that the internet product offered by Volt Broadband is of the highest quality for our NELPCO members.

We are coming up on the one year anniversary for our first connection, which took place on September 7 of last year. We are pleased with the progress being made, and understand that everyone who has signed up is ready to get the service.

You can find a complete interactive map on our website at VoltBroadband.com/construction-schedule-map to view the projected in-service dates for your area.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to aggressively work to stay on schedule in order to provide this service to ALL of NELPCO’s valued members.

Make sure to follow us on social media for more updates. You can also call our office at 318.728.1022 for weekly project updates. And if you haven’t pre-registered yet, do so today at VoltBroadband.com/signup.