Flexible payment for CU protected fiber internet at Bradley County IT Committee meeting

On Thursday, May 16, the Bradley County IT Committee heard a presentation from CU about its upcoming high-speed Internet service, with a focus on extending the service within the county.

Describing CU’s transition to an authority that allows CU to provide Internet service, Tim Henderson, CU president and CEO, said things have moved at “easy speed.”

In fact, earlier in the day, CU confirmed it had successfully tested redundant Internet paths to keep customers connected in the event of a storm or other outage-causing event.

Noting that CU legally can only provide Internet to those who receive electricity from CU, Henderson said, “[The county has] has been privileged in water services for many, many years. You know how far we stretch the water, and this has been something that’s very common for all of you — so this is kind of a new endeavor and we’re very excited about it.”

Starting in the area of ​​Rolling Hills and Freewill Road, CU anticipates connecting its first customers in mid-to-late 2024, with an anticipated 18-month construction period that will see its final design area to be released in the first quarter of 2026.

Joining Henderson at the IT Committee meeting was Marshall Stinnett, CU’s vice president and CFO, who led a Powerpoint presentation on the basics of CU’s fiber Internet services.

Offering symmetrical speeds, allowing for the same upload and download speeds, CU’s residential fiber offerings are:

400mbps for $59.99;

• 1000mbps for $69.99; AND

2.5GB for $99.99.

CU also offers fiber to commercial customers, with rates starting at $99.99 for 500 mbps.

Overall, Stinnett told the committee that customers who choose to opt into CU’s fiber Internet will be billed separately from their utility bill, noting, “As part of the study we did when we looked at bringing fiber to Cleveland, we We asked our customers a few questions, and one of them was, ‘What would be your preference?’ And it was overwhelming that they would rather see [internet and utilities] the invoices should be separate”.

Elaborating, Stinnett said CU noticed a “cashflow” shortage for many of CU’s customers, so separating the Internet bill from the utility bill will allow customers to avoid a larger monthly payment on the same date. if they choose to schedule them separately.

With this, customers will be able to choose which day their internet bill payment date will be.

Flexible payment was an important development for CU, with Stinnett saying, “This is the first step in Cleveland Utilities opening that door and trying to provide higher levels of customer service and flexibility for what our customers learn from us”.

While CU will not offer cable television, it will have employees on call to assist customers in setting up their own streaming cable alternatives, such as Roku or Firestick.

By being local and serving its customers in the city and county, it hopes to be competitive with national Internet providers that are not located outside the area.

Serving almost 9,500 customers who are exclusively CU customers in the county alone, CU hopes to fill Internet service gaps not always accounted for in the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband access maps.

In the past, these FCC maps have been targeted by the Bradley County Commission for their inaccuracy, as a neighborhood may be marked as served by the Internet when only one or a few residents may have access to the service.

CU’s fiber efforts may be the first point of legitimate broadband access for some county residents, and it was noted that crews working on the infrastructure for this service will drive vehicles marked with the CU logo, and crews will have an identification card.

Meanwhile, the possibility of the county government participating in the CU bids could be significant.

“[The county] pays $1,299 per month for Internet – in the annex and in [Bradley County Courthouse],” Adam Lewis, executive assistant to County Mayor D. Gary Davis.

Additional buildings, such as each fire station, EMS station, Bradley County Juvenile Detention Center and others also have their own separate internet bills.

Stinnett said, “If you want to get the highest service available [with CU]that would be $399.”

Lewis replied: “It blows my mind. [The county is] paying $1,300 for two buildings – no telling what we pay countywide for internet every month, and he just told us we can get it countywide for $400.”

How each department will do its billing is still to be determined, but Lewis said “it makes a lot of sense” for the county’s participation, adding, “The last thing I think is going to be very important is customer only. the service that Cleveland Utilities will be able to provide if you’ve ever tried to call an AT&T or a Spectrum, it’s a nightmare.”