Message from the General Manager
The best way to sum up 2020 would be to say it’s been a ‘unique’ year for your Cooperative. Navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us our strengths and given us opportunities to do things in different ways. The Board of Directors, Leadership Team, and Employees of the Cooperative have embraced the opportunity to continue to provide you with quality service, excellent support, and advanced technology in more new ways than ever before.
We closed our lobby doors to the public on March 24th but remained steadfast to serve you through our drive-up, by phone, and online. We continued our deployment of 1Gbps Fiber to the Home service. To date, we have entered Phase 4: the Alum Ridge community and the Floyd North area. We are steadily connecting Indian Valley and the Parkway region of the Fairview area. We continue to connect homes in earlier completed areas as well.
Currently, in our ACAM project, we have constructed 257.4 miles of fiber and have over 1,000 customers connected to the Gigabit fiber service. That’s nearly 30% of our Internet customers and much more than we anticipated. In addition, your Cooperative completed a VATI project passing 316 homes in Copper Hill making Gigabit service eligible to those homes as well. To the early adopters in Copper Hill, we say “WELCOME TO GIG COUNTRY!” We hope you are enjoying the 1Gbps speed with generous Usage Plans that are designed to meet the specific needs of your home.
As more areas become Gig-ready, watch for emails and letters from our sales team. You can also stay informed on the progress of the fiber project by viewing the construction Fiber Map on our website citizens.coop/fiberexpansion and following the Fiber Installation Timeline as we get closer to your home citizens.coop/fiber-to-your-home-installation-timeline
Thank you for your support and for being a loyal member. We appreciate the trust that you put in us.
Our Mission is to provide you with Quality Service, Excellent Support, and Advanced Technology. It’s our privilege to provide Technology for Your Community.
Sincerely,
Greg Sapp, CEO & General Manager
We’re all about connections.
Learn more about the installation of fiber at:
citizens.coop/fiber-to-your-home-installation-timeline
2020 Accomplishments
- Expand 1Gbps Fiber to the Home Service Phase 4 Fiber Construction
- Completed VATI project construction deploying 1 Gbps to areas of Copper Hill
- Continue to Expand CitiZip VDSL Footprint Offering Speeds up to 50Mbps
- Broadened the footprint of Security, Automation, and Surveillance Solutions for Businesses and Residential Homes
- Expanded Hosted Phone Solutions for Businesses
- Ensured Internet service for educational purposes via Student Connect for low-income families during school closure due to COVID-19
- Gave upgraded speeds without price increases providing work from home solutions during COVID-19 for residents and businesses
2021 Outlook
- Begin the final phases of construction for 1 Gbps fiber deployment
- Launch streaming TV service to eliminate the need for set-top boxes for Citizens TV service
- Increase SIP Trunk offerings for Businesses
- Integration of new Area Codes