*Timeline may fluctuate based on demand and weather.
Citizens Secures VDOT Permits and Begins Construction
- You might see our construction crews on your road.
- You may see the orange conduit along the road during the boring stage. This will later be buried.
6-12 months before installation
Fiber Testing Period
- Performed to ensure the functionality of the fiber optics.
- Once the service meets Citizens’ Delivery Standards, the multi-step installation process continues.
1-3 months before installation
First Notice from Citizens Alerts You That Fiber is Getting Close
- The purpose of this notification is to ensure your contact information is up to date.
- This step is important to ensure that you get notices from our team along the way, making you aware of when the fiber is available and when we are ready to begin the service order process to connect your home to the fiber-optic service.
1-3 months before installation
Second Notification from Citizens
- Citizens' Sales Consultants are ready to accept your call and will also reach out to you to discuss your service needs and if you plan on connecting to the fiber service.
1.5 - 2 months before installation
The BEST Step: You’ve made a Good Decision!
- YOU decided to get Gig Fiber at your home!! A one-time Activation Fee collected by your Sales Consultant starts the process for your home to get the 1Gpbs Fiber connection.
1.5 - 2 months before installation
Citizens Engineers Mark & Stake the Lines
- An Engineer will call to discuss options for placement of outside equipment and review existing buried services that we may need to work around such as power lines, water lines, gas lines, underground electrical fencing, etc. Please be sure to make the Engineer aware of any special situations at the time of the consultation.
- An Engineer will visit your premise and draft a drawing for the best route to reach your home from our nearest fiber location. This does not require you to be home at the time of this visit. No one will need to enter your home. Should there be gates or access controls, please make the Engineer aware during the initial consultation.
- If your home currently has a mounted network box, we are not restricted to placing the new fiber network box in the same location. Keep this in mind when we discuss the placement of equipment. The best placement is close to the center of your home where you will have your indoor equipment located. WiFi works the best from a central location!
1 - 1.5 months before installation
Utility Marking by VA811 and other utility providers
- Our contractors will call VA 811 to establish a ticket for you.
- You may see multiple providers during this time period to mark the various utilities around your property. These markings can be for electric, water, gas, etc.
1 - 1.5 months before installation
Construction Crew
- This phase is when the drop to the home will be plowed.
- You will not be notified in advance of this step.
- If you have dogs or other circumstances that require advance notice, please let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate.
- A small trench with a ditch-witch is used and leaves little evidence of a plowed area under normal circumstances.
- Should larger equipment be required, Citizens seeds grass to repair any disrupted soil.
- Our crews work orders based on equipment availability and weather conditions, therefore an exact date is often not known.
1 - 1.5 months before installation
Fiber Splicing & Placement of Transition Box on the Outside of the Home
- During this phase, you may see a couple of Citizens Technicians while they splice the fiber and place a transition box on the outside of your home.
- This is how the service gets to the inside of your home.
- This work is often done as we have technicians available.
- You will be notified in advance that we will be accessing your property, but you are not required to be home.
- All work at this step is done outside.
- No one will enter your home.
2 - 3 weeks before installation
Call from Citizens to Schedule Your Service Installation
- A Citizens representative will call to schedule the best date and time to make a visit to your home to install your service(s).
2 - 4 weeks before installation
Broadband Techs Install Service
- The excitement begins as Citizens’ Technicians contact you via text or email (based on your preference) when they are on the way with your equipment to install.
- All Citizens’ vehicles are marked with our company name, and our Techs carry an identification badge as well as safety and protective equipment.
- At this step Technicians will enter your home.
- They will install services capable of utilizing the 1Gbps connection to your home.
- The installation will take approximately 2-4 hours depending on the subscribed services; please plan accordingly.
Installation day is here!
Satisfied Citizens Fiber Customer
The most important step for us is YOU. We want you to be a satisfied customer and enjoy Citizens
1Gbps Fiber to the Home service. Equipment that you may have may include Battery Backup ONT
GigaSpire for Whole Home WiFi and more!
Our Customer Service remains after the installation.
Office Hours: 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday
9 am - 1 pm Saturday.
24/7 Technical Support available to serve you at 540.745.2111 or 276.637.6485, Press 1 for assistance.
Our Mission is to provide you with Quality Service, Excellent Support, and Advanced Technology.
We value the trust that you put in us to be your communications and entertainment provider.
We are proud to provide Technology for Your Community!