Dear AVECC Member,
As we move into a new year, we are still living through unique and extraordinary times. It’s hard to believe that we are nearly two years into this world changed by the pandemic.
Many aspects of our lives – the ways we work, learn, spend our downtime, and stay in touch with loved ones – are vastly different than they were in pre-COVID life. But one factor is shared throughout: They all rely on access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet. At Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative and our fiber broadband subsidiary WAVE Rural Connect, we understand the importance of that and are working as quickly as possible to reach 100% of our members as well as some adjacent communities with world-class fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband.
I’m pleased to let you know that throughout 2021, we made great progress in bringing service to our communities. We have leveraged several federal and state funding opportunities to expand our service. WAVE currently provides over 17,000 fiber services across the River Valley.
Among our other 2021 milestones reached were:
- Opened zones– Hackett, Neff, Greenwood, Johnnie King, Mountainburg, Ozark, Coal Hill, Peter Pender, Clarksville
- Total Miles of fiber completed: 1200 Miles
- Locations Installed: 7700 locations; Averaged 150 installs a week
- Funding Received:
- Franklin County ARC Proposal: $5.5M
- Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF): $46M
- Logan County ARC Proposal: $2,064,000
WAVE’s plans for 2022 are already in motion! You can check availability anytime by clicking on our service map at www.waveruralconnect.com. This map provides a detailed view of the Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative service territory and where WAVE Rural Connect is currently available. We also have estimated dates for our remaining zones in Phase 3, Phase 4, and Phase 5 of our network build.
If you live in one of the communities where fiber is currently available or soon will be, and you are interested in high-speed internet, please let our WAVE team know by signing up or pre-registering at www.waveruralconnect.com. Pre-registration is the easiest way to get notifications and service updates but does not automatically subscribe you to service. Packages as low as $49.95 a month offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps – upload and download – with no data caps or throttling back on speed.
We remain committed to building out our network as rapidly as possible and pursuing other funding opportunities to accelerate our progress even further. As we have said before, we will not stop until 100% of Arkansas Valley Electric members are served. I know it can be frustrating to learn that fiber may not yet be in your area, and we appreciate the patience and support of our members as we continue our broadband journey.
We will continue to keep you updated through our WAVE Rural Connect website and Facebook page as we progress, and I thank you for engaging with us on those platforms. We love seeing our members active on our Facebook page and appreciate every question, service request, and comment we receive from you, positive and negative.
Feel free to reach out to us:
Email us at info@waverc.com
Visit www.waveruralconnect.com to sign up
Call us at (833) 492-8372, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative and WAVE Rural Connect are committed to the Arkansas and Oklahoma communities we serve. I wish you the best in this new year and look forward to communicating with you again soon. Thank you as always for your support.
Al Simpson
CEO, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative
Managing Member, Wave Rural Connect
