As you can imagine, building a fiber network from the ground up takes a lot of planning and hard work, and we’re happy to announce that we’re beginning to expand further!
The proposed expansion will happen in three phases:
Phase 1 is the fielding and planning phase. This will start Tuesday, May 19 in the Hart area, then move south to the Newaygo and Wayland service areas. During the fielding process, we will visit approximately 35,000 locations in our Hart, Newaygo, and Wayland service areas to collect data including the type of residence, pole information, and other data related to infrastructure. This data helps us determine the feasibility of expanding Truestream, including mapping out infrastructure needs and how to get the fiber lines to members’ homes.
Phase 2 is the construction of the fiber network. The information gathered during the Phase 1 fielding process, including a proposed budget and map of the mainline fiber route, will be presented to the board later in 2020 for approval. If approved, the construction of the fiber network will start in 2021. This construction process can be labor intensive because it involves running the fiber line along the electrical path, which includes both underground and overhead electrical lines.
Phase 3 is when we connect homes and businesses to the Truestream network. Depending on the time-frames of Phases 1 & 2, we expect to begin connecting homes and businesses in 2022.
The Hart, Newaygo, and Wayland service districts were selected based on several factors, including demand on jointruestream.com, funding availability, and constructability.
Free in-home installation, valued at $149, is currently available for Great Lakes Energy members who register interest.
Please visit jointruestream.com to register your interest and to see the project status by area.