5:58PM January 17, 2018
Team SEMO completed two test fiber drops - the process to get fiber to the outside of a home - in Miner. We will soon complete the installation inside the homes and test our Gig fiber network. Team SEMO is making great progress as the GoSEMOFiber.com project started less than 10 months ago. We appreciate the help from expert partners Conexon, Ervin Cable Construction, National Information Solutions Cooperative, Crowdfiber and several others.
6:52PM January 08, 2018
On the 80th Birthday of SEMO Electric Cooperative, the cooperative's Board of Directors attended Camp GoSEMO Fiber to learn about the fiber installation process and witness the first residential test fiber drop and install. Directors spent several hours in the classroom, onsite at a member's residence and toured the fiber transmission hut at Miner, Mo. The purpose of the training was to educate directors about the overall fiber process. The directors made the financial decision to move forward with SEMO Electric's GoSEMO Fiber project. A 60-month, $40 million undertaking to bring broadband to member-owners in rural southeast Missouri. The articles of incorporation of what would become SEMO Electric Cooperative were filed on January 8, 1938, with the recorder of deeds in Benton, Mo. It was the beginning of the effort to bring electricity to member-owners in rural southeast Missouri.
4:52PM December 22, 2017
Ervin Cable Construction and A & H Communications are splicing fiber to prepare fiber drop locations for home installations in Miner, Mo. In this video, A & H is pulling one fiber strand from a fiber buffer tube and connecting into the splice box (in total, there are 96 strands of fiber within eight fiber tubes). The splice work allows one fiber strand to connect to the network interface device (NID) on the side of the house and then into the home for GoSEMO Fiber.
12:56PM December 20, 2017
GoSEMO Fiber took a big step as we fired up our edge router inside the network operations center (NOC) at The Hut in Sikeston,, Mo. An edge router is a specialized router residing at the edge or boundary of a network. This router ensures the connectivity of its network with external networks, a wide area network or the Internet. In our case, connections to STL and the world.
12:07PM December 18, 2017
Thank you Advance Public Schools, Advance, Mo., for hosting GoSEMO and SEMO Electric in your high school gym last Friday.
We rocked in getting nearly 100 new supporters preregistered for the fastest fiber-to-the-home internet coming to southeast Missouri.
We are just as excited as you are to bring speed and service to you. Keep sharing GoSEMO with your friends and family.
6:21PM December 11, 2017
Dennis and Tom with Charles Industries visited SEMO Electric Cooperative to share best practices and train Team SEMO on the use of above-grade pedestals for GoSEMO Fiber's underground fiber installations.
Charles Fiber Distribution Point™ (CFDP) and Buried Distribution Optical (BDO) pedestals provide environmental protection for above-grade fiber splice points and are a critical part of many broadband construction projects.
Founded in 1968, Charles is a privately-held, diversified manufacturing and technology company with corporate headquarters in the Schaumburg Towers of Schaumburg, Illinois (western suburb of Chicago) and five U.S. based manufacturing centers, including Canton, Mo.
11:35AM December 08, 2017
Sho-Me Technologies' Mark Keeling, chief technology officer, presented an overview of Sho-Me’s fiber capabilities to SEMO Electric Cooperative's Board of Directors. SEMO Electric selected Sho-Me Technologies, LLC, to provide its fiber interconnection to major “Telco Hotels” in Missouri cities like St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. These interconnections create a pathway to anywhere in the world for internet connectivity. Sho-Me Technologies was selected after several rounds of interviews with various providers.
We have already made the fiber connection between Sho-Me's fiber hut in Sikeston and SEMO Electric's fiber hut in Sikeston. The buildings are less than 20 feet apart.
Team SEMO visited Sho-Me’s headquarters and network operations center at Marshfield, Mo., to affirm the technology co-op’s focus on reliability. Sho-Me Technologies is a subsidiary of Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative in Marshfield, Mo. Sho-Me Technologies operates an advanced optical network in Missouri. What began as an upgrade to the extensive internal communications network has now grown to encompass over 4,200 miles of fiber optic connectivity. With over 120 Points of Presence, including one at SEMO Electric’s office in Sikeston, Sho-Me Technologies boasts the highest coverage of optical bandwidth in the area.
9:44AM December 04, 2017
Team SEMO made a visit to Barry Electric Cooperative, which is offering fiber services through goBEC in Cassville, Mo., to experience its process for signing up new subscribers for fiber broadband services. We continue to learn and share from other cooperatives as we work on finalizing the process to offer fiber services for phase one in Miner, Mo. We are just as focused on GoSEMO Fiber as we are on SEMO Electric to safely, competitively and reliably provide fiber broadband services to subscribers. We are excited to enhance the quality of life in southeast Missouri.
4:12PM December 01, 2017
Bailey White with CrowdFiber conducted a training session with Team SEMO regarding member-subscriber relationship management. CrowdFiber's software platform features integrated applications for Team SEMO to engage and educate members. Plus, the cloud-based system allows subscribers to preregister and complete the fiber sign up process at gosemofiber.com.
6:08PM November 28, 2017
We reached 1,100 registered supporters today. Plus, we scheduled the first test fiber-to--the-home installation for the week of December 18 in Miner, Mo. This will give us an opportunity to refine the home installation process and test the fiber network. The GoSEMO Fiber rocket is starting to fly.
5:36PM November 27, 2017
There are many, many steps in the process to bring Gigabit Fiber Internet service to SEMO Electric Cooperative’s member-owners. Like a kid on Christmas, we get excited about the little things. For example, fiber optic cable, electrical wiring and equipment racks were installed at SEMO Electric's network operations center (NOC) inside The Hut today at Sikeston.
This is a big step in connecting to the national fiber network and in building SEMO Electric’s fiber ring, which will connect SEMO Electric's substations into a high-speed fiber backbone. Think of the substation ring as a redundant, ring-shaped backbone network, through which we can route broadband traffic. The ring is essential for reliability for the fiber-to-the-home project. There is still a lot of work to finish, but we are moving forward.
6:22PM November 22, 2017
As part of SEMO Electric’s GoSEMO Fiber project, we are making changes to the member services’ area in our Sikeston office. On the eve of Thanksgiving, we made some final decisions to provide adequate office space to conduct electric and fiber transactions with members and subscribers. Plus, we will have a demonstration zone for you to experience Gig Internet and HD TV. Please excuse the mess at the office as we work on GoSEMO Fiber and continue to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity in southeast Missouri. Have a blessed Thanksgiving weekend.
9:14AM November 16, 2017
Team SEMO has been working on the fiber ring, which will connect SEMO Electric's substations into a fiber backbone. Think of our substation ring as a redundant, ring-shaped backbone network, through which we can route broadband traffic in either direction if there is an outage on the line. The substations are then our jumping off points to build laterals and service drops to connect homes, farms and businesses. The process is similar to our electric delivery system. So getting the substations connected with fiber is the first order of business. Our fiber huts in Sikeston, Miner and Dogwood have been delivered and we are starting to install the electronic equipment. We have 14 more fiber huts that need to be delivered and prepared to complete the fiber ring.
7:10PM November 13, 2017
Today, we surpassed 1,000 registered supporters. We reached this milestone with virtually no paid advertising. Just word-of-mouth. Thank you for your support as we work through the process of design, make-ready, construction and service drops to bring broadband to rural southeast Missouri.
1:07PM November 10, 2017
Team SEMO and SEMO Electric Cooperative’s fiber contractors Conexon and Ervin Cable Construction (ECC) continue to work on Phase One design, make-ready and construction in the Miner area.
Team SEMO has been working on the fiber ring, which will connect SEMO Electric's substations into a fiber backbone. Think of our substation ring as a redundant, ring-shaped backbone network, through which we can route broadband traffic in either direction if there is an outage on the line. The substations are then our jumping off points to build laterals and service drops to connect homes, farms and businesses. The process is similar to our electric delivery system. So getting the substations connected with fiber is the first order of business. Our fiber huts in Sikeston, Miner and Dogwood have been delivered and we are starting to install the electronic equipment. We have 14 more fiber huts that need to be delivered and prepared to complete the fiber ring.
To date, EEC crews have 30 miles of strand and nearly five miles of fiber in the air for the Miner area backbone. Once we get the backbone, we will start to work on service drops to homes, farms and businesses in January.
Like you, we are excited about the project. We are being prudent as we move forward to ensure a quality network build so that our infrastructure can reliably deliver Internet, TV and voice services to you. Thank you for your excitement and patience.
6:47PM October 27, 2017
Another step in the process to bring broadband to southeast Missouri…
Racks to hold electronic equipment to operate SEMO Electric Cooperative's network operations center (NOC) – The NOC inside The Hut – for electricity and fiber are starting to arrive. Engineers will begin full assembly soon. We put the The Hut’s back-up generator in-service this week. The fiber building for Miner’s substation will be delivered next week so we can start work on the fiber ring.
6:36AM October 24, 2017
Members of Team SEMO shared SEMO Electric Cooperative’s broadband plans with the Scott County Commission in Benton, Mo. SEMO Electric’s phase one construction is underway near Miner, Mo, which is in Scott and Mississippi counties.
The County Commission is responsible for the administration of the county's government which includes: setting the annual budget and payment of expenditures, all county property, conducting the county's business in cooperation with the various county officeholders and departments.
1:26PM October 22, 2017
Tammy R. was our 700th supporter to register her interest in GoSEMO Fiber. Momentum is growing for broadband in rural southeast Missouri. Your patience is appreciated as this is a big project with many steps. Please see previous updates.
While it may be a few months or 60 months before GoSEMO Fiber reaches your home or business, be cautious not to sign or verbally agree to a long-term contract with other service providers who may not offer speed of light service with simple pricing with no gimmicks or tricks. As a cooperative, our business model is simply different – simply better.
1:02AM October 22, 2017
We have installed nearly 100,000 feet of strand, which the fiber will be attached, to power poles in and around Miner, Mo. We have poured concrete pads for fiber buildings at two substations. On Monday, the backup generator for the network operations center – The Hut – will be put in-service at Sikeston. We expect to announce the full lineup of services in the coming weeks and anticipate connecting some Miner-area homes in late January.
7:03PM October 17, 2017
During a six hour productive board meeting on Monday, we made some key strategic decisions for our gosemofiber.com project. We will soon announce construction phases and pricing details. Plus, United Fiber's David shared Missouri's United Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s fiber success story. We are learning from our co-op peers as we work to bring broadband to southeast Missouri.
2:13PM October 12, 2017
A few members from Team SEMO made a visit to Ozarks Electric Cooperative, which is offering fiber services through OzarksGo, LLC, in Fayetteville, Ark., to learn best practices for scheduling and installing fiber inside a home or business for internet, HDTV and phone services. As we continue our phase one construction in Miner, Mo., we are focused on becoming the industry-leader for broadband services in southeast Missouri.
3:57PM October 06, 2017
Source: West Plains Daily Quill
Wednesday morning, patrons of Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District filed into the West Plains Civic Center theater, many from outside of Howell County, to listen to a discussion on rural broadband internet access with Federal Communications Commissions Chair Ajit Pai.
The gathering, promoted by Eighth District Rep. Jason Smith as a roundtable discussion, was well-attended. About 200 seats in the theater were filled with constituents and representatives of local governments and industries. Some dressed professionally, while others still wore their farm clothes, having rushed to the civic center from their rural homes.
A panel of speakers representing different local sectors impacted by the rural broadband issue shared concerns, observations and solutions they’ve managed to improvise to work with or around limited rural access.
Loyd Rice of SEMO Electric Cooperative in Sikeston spoke of his co-op’s GoSEMO fiber initiative it is preparing to launch. GoSEMO was formed to build a fiber-optic network with a two-fold purpose. First, it would improve the co-op’s own automation capabilities and reliable electric service, and second it would further the co-op’s goal of powering communities and empowering members.
11:18AM October 06, 2017
SEMO Electric Cooperative has selected Sho-Me Technologies, LLC to provide its fiber interconnection to major “Telco Hotels” in Missouri cities like St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. These interconnections create a pathway to anywhere in the world for connectivity. The agreement with Sho-Me is another step in SEMO Electric's journey to provide triple play services to its members.
Sho-Me Technologies was selected after several rounds of interviews with various providers. In addition, Team SEMO visited Sho-Me’s headquarters and network operations center at Marshfield, Mo., to affirm the technology company’s focus on redundancy and reliability.
Sho-Me Technologies is a subsidiary of Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative in Marshfield, MO. Sho-Me Technologies operates an advanced optical network in Missouri. What began as an upgrade to the extensive internal communications network has now grown to encompass over 4,200 miles of fiber optic connectivity. With over 120 Points of Presence, including one at SEMO Electric’s office in Sikeston, Sho-Me Technologies boasts the highest coverage of optical bandwidth in the area.
8:18AM September 28, 2017
For our member-owners in the Miner area, progress continues on our first phase to provide fiber internet within the next four months. More than five miles of 23 total miles of strand has been pulled. Once we pull the strand, crews will come back and attach the fiber. Plus, the concrete pad for Miner’s fiber hut, which allows connectivity to SEMO’s other substations, to our Sikeston HQ and to our regional and national broadband partners, was poured today.
7:41PM September 26, 2017
KFVS - Around 11,000 SEMO Electric Co-op customers will get high-speed internet. The company began a five-phase project and said they'll offer the fastest internet in the area.
SEMO Electric said this comes 80 years after the company first ran electricity to these same communities.
"Well, I think our board of directors looked at it just like the early providers of rural electricity did," said Rick Faulkner, president of SEMO Electric Co-op. "Nobody else would do it and we think we can and that's what we wanted to do, the board decided that was the decision we needed to make."
This is phase one of the project. It affects customers in Miner, Advance and Bloomfield.
