Building Better Communities Through Connectivity

Joe Fletcher, owner of Okie Joe’s BBQ in Stilwell, OK.

Connectivity is one of the core aspects of a healthy community for both residents and local businesses. In today’s day and age, it is difficult to imagine a business running smoothly without stable internet access. Keeping track of finances, processing credit card payments, and taking orders over the phone all require some sort of internet connection, and it’s certainly good for business if that type of connection happens to be fiber broadband. 

“Before high-speed Wi-Fi with OzarksGo, our credit card processor was taking like 5 to 10 seconds with each transaction,” said Joe Fletcher, owner of Okie Joe’s BBQ in Stilwell, OK.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is when you’ve got a person waiting in the window and you’re trying to move on to the next thing. With OzarksGo, it’s a second or two. It’s an immediate transaction.” 

Building Trust 

Building trust with those we serve doesn’t stop with providing a necessary service.  Having our own local customer support team has allowed us to provide a more personal touch to assisting our customers with their technical issues.  

Building Community 

“I can call OzarksGo and… they come out immediately,” said Joe. “They know that we’re a business, they know how important it is that our internet’s working, and they come out and troubleshoot until they get everything working. It’s immediate, the response is immediate.” 

Joe even referred to one of our representatives on a first name basis saying that “When we were having issues, something was going wrong with our computer system, Frank came right in, diagnosed the problem… and it worked out great.” 

Building Jobs 

The reliability of our network has allowed Joe and his staff to focus more of their attention on serving their clientele of local workers, families and out of town visitors. With this increase in capacity comes an opportunity for growth, which can create the need for new positions as the business expands. 

Building a Better World 

Rural communities deserve the same interconnectedness as their urban neighbors and providing local businesses with the tools they need to grow is just one part of building a better world for our customers. We continue to provide reliable, personal support long after the drop has been completed to the home or business, making their service both more sustainable and more enjoyable.

Why We Serve

For their jobs.
For their access to medicine. 
For their children. 
For a better way of life. 

This is why we serve.

In 1937, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corporation (AVECC) gave light to rural Arkansans who were left in the dark, helping transform the River Valley into a prosperous, industrial, and leading agricultural region of the United States. 

AVECC has once again answered the call, taking the initiative to provide River Valley residents spanning western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma with high-speed, broadband internet.

AVECC believes families should not have to choose between living in rural America and having access to an invaluable tool to help their family succeed in their career opportunities and educational pursuits and gain access to life-saving medical measures. 

High-speed broadband internet could be the difference between either settling for a lower-paying job or pursuing an online degree that will launch a new career. High-speed broadband internet in your home means Friday nights are spent with your family watching a movie on a streaming platform without the threat of buffering. High-speed broadband internet means medical patients can communicate with their doctor instead of driving to the nearest facility, sometimes hours away.

The American standard of living should not change based on proximity to city limits. However, with rural Americans having to make those choices every day, talented, equipped, and valued individuals are being left behind in the digital divide. 
High-speed broadband internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. 

Cooperatives recognize the dire need for high-speed broadband internet and have risen to the occasion to provide it. 

Wave Rural Connect (WAVE) was established in 2018 as AVECC’s subsidiary, providing high-speed broadband internet to over 46,000 AVECC members over a five-year buildout. WAVE has been described as “life-changing,” “the best thing since sliced bread,” and “the best internet service for rural areas.” 

One member shared, “As someone that lives in the last house on a dead-end dirt mountain road, I am thankful that you promised service to ALL AVECC members. No other providers would ever have come out this far to my house.”

Cooperatives are uniquely equipped to bring high-speed broadband internet to rural Americans because we value the rural way of life and possess the tenacity to get the job done.

Cooperatives have proven reliable, sustainable, and responsible to rural communities and are continuing in our pursuit to close the American digital divide. 

Simply put, AVECC, WAVE, and all other cooperatives and cooperative-owned fiber companies serve rural Americans because it is the right thing to do.

Connecting to the Backbone of America

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They comprise 99.9% of all U.S. businesses, over two-thirds of the net new jobs created since 2000 and employ roughly half of America’s private sector workforce according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2021). However, even as vital as small businesses are to the American economy, many are still faced with the hardships created by the digital divide.

Stewart Wholesale is the quintessential rural business. E.H. Stewart started Stewart Wholesale on October 1, 1975 while working full-time as a salesman for Harvey’s GMC in Shawnee, OK. Mr. Stewart continued investing into the business and growing it on the principles of meeting the needs of his customers with reliable, knowledgeable service. By 1979, his efforts resulted in E.H. operating the business full-time. 

Stewart Wholesale continued to grow as customer testimonies spread throughout their industry. In the 1990s, Stewart Wholesale made the jump into the technological era to ensure their business was viable into the future with their first internet connection, a T-1 circuit which delivered a blazing 1.5 Mbps! Over time they added more circuits, culminating in a total of 6 Mbps of bandwidth. The bandwidth barely provided the capacity for their point-of-sale system, much less allowing them to digitize their business to reach online customers nationwide.

“Many times, we find ourselves looking up parts from suppliers and confirming tracking orders on our cell phones because it is faster than our internet connection in the shop,” Earl Crabb, sales manager for Stewart Wholesale, said. “We have grown the business by offering superb customer service and always answering the phone. However, the lack of high-speed internet keeps us from utilizing technology in the way we would like to.” 
They were faced with one option to meet their bandwidth needs – spend tens of thousands of dollars in construction costs to the incumbent provider. That is until CVEC Fiber announced their plans to build fiber internet to serve rural businesses and residents. 

“CVEC Fiber internet is phenomenal! With our previous provider, you couldn’t do multiple tasks at once, much less run a business. With CVEC Fiber, the service is almost too fast,” Crabb said. 
Fast is an understatement. Stewart Wholesale is now operating on a 1 Gig circuit which equates to 167 times their previous bandwidth. 

Small businesses, like Stewart Wholesale, are not merely a building with a product. They are the lifeline of the rural communities that we call home and were built over time with grit, determination, and impeccable customer service. CVEC Fiber, like many other electric cooperatives, are answering the call to provide fast, reliable broadband service throughout Oklahoma to ensure that rural businesses, farms, and ranches have access to the technology that is shaping every industry across our nation, allowing them to not only sustain their operations, but to flourish.

Commitment to Serve All

By definition, cooperatives are built on cooperation. To be ‘cooperative’ means to work together towards a common goal.

Cooperatives are centered in people. They are owned, controlled and operated by their members and prioritize quality of life for those they serve. Co-ops are not owned by shareholders, the benefits of the services they provide stay in the communities they impact every day. Profits generated are either reinvested or returned to members. 

Cooperatives stand out because they are member-focused, not-for-profit and community driven. They go the extra mile because they care. Cooperatives are built on the premise of neighbors helping neighbors.

It is based on this strong foundation that several electric cooperatives are active players in helping to bridge the digital divide. In Oklahoma, 10 out of 27 distribution electric cooperatives have created fiber subsidiaries to bring high-speed internet to rural and suburban areas. 

While conditions are unique for every electric cooperative, the co-ops that have been able to form a fiber subsidiary were able to do so based on accessibility of grants and other favorable economic conditions. Other co-ops partner with existing providers, when feasible, to extend service to their rural membership. 

Nationwide, hundreds of electric cooperatives are providing broadband or assessing the feasibility of providing service to more than 6.3 million households in co-op service areas that don’t have access to high-speed internet service. 

It’s what cooperatives do. They see a need and they put their best effort forth to meet a need. If it means achieving a higher quality of life for those they serve, co-ops will respond. This is the cooperative difference.

Connectivity is vital to rural areas

 |Pastor Josh Cate and his family (left to right) wife Amber, son Rylan and daughter Kamry

Some eight miles from the nearest town lies a small church down a quiet country road in Haskell County. Surrounded by rolling hills with pastures, and sitting next to a small cemetery, West Liberty Baptist Church has been a fixture of this area since 1894, and people have been worshiping there ever since. 

The Covid pandemic forced everyone to look at new ways to continue carrying out their traditions and this included churches. How were people going to find ways to connect during a pandemic with extended times of quarantine? The immediate and obvious solution for most was technology-driven, and more specifically, utilizing the internet to fill the enormous gap caused by this worldwide event. While this was a difficult challenge for almost everyone, it was nearly an impossible obstacle for those in rural areas who didn’t have access to fast, reliable internet service. Up until the pandemic, those living in rural areas typically viewed the lack of high-speed internet as an inconvenience that folks just learned to live with, but the internet has since transitioned from a luxury to an essential utility that rivals running water and electricity. 

With safety on everyone’s minds, country churches like West Liberty struggled to find ways to continue holding worship services. “At the time of the Covid-19 outbreak, we didn’t have access to high-speed internet at the church and neither did most of our members who largely reside in rural areas, and that was a real problem for us,” said Josh Cate, Pastor of West Liberty. “We just didn’t have a mechanism in place to be able to share our worship services with those who were unable to attend in person. There were a lot of unknowns at the time, and a global pandemic wasn’t something most churches, including us, had a surefire plan for. When we heard about Cookson Hills Electric offering fiber internet to those in rural areas, we knew it was going to be a game-changer for us. Cookson Hills Connect fiber now allows us to stream services so our members who can’t attend can still participate and remain an active part of our church family. It has just been a true blessing to us.” 

The streaming of church services is only one of many benefits made possible when quality internet is available to everyone, including rural Oklahomans. Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative and other electric cooperatives in Oklahoma are fulfilling a mission to provide a long-overdue service to thousands of Oklahoma residents. 

Juli Orme, CEO of Cookson Hills Connect, says that “One of the most satisfying results of bringing fiber internet to our members is seeing how it allows them to be connected. It has truly changed lives and had an incredible impact on so many.  Whether it is connecting with their family, church, school, or work, our goal is to help improve the lives of our members, and we are grateful for the opportunity to play a role in those important connections.”

Fiber meets needs, adds to quality of life

Electric cooperatives are committed to improving quality of life for members and communities. This commitment began when electric co-ops were formed. It’s the driving force behind new and old cooperative programs and services.

“We feel it’s our responsibility to work toward constant advancement for our members and communities; by not only providing safe, affordable electricity, but so much more,” East Central Electric General Manager, Tim Smith, says.

What does it mean to improve the quality of life for others?

Studies show improving quality of life means achieving satisfaction across several aspects, including emotional and physical well-being, social relationships and engagement with others, and personal and professional development, including learning new skills.

For East Central Electric Cooperative member and ecoLINK subscriber Alice Perry, ecoLINK has checked all those boxes.

“I’m able to work from home when needed, take college classes to further my career, learn new skills and have peace of mind knowing my family is protected by a security system, all thanks to ecoLINK,” Perry says.
Perry said life drastically improved not only for herself but for other family and friends when ecoLINK came to the area.

“My mother-in-law’s house had been broken into six times during renovations after flooding. Because of ecoLINK, we were able to have a security system installed. Since then, there’s been no issues,” Perry says.
Before ecoLINK, Perry says she had no real options for internet service. She tried using hotspots but was left unable to get much accomplished.  Without access to high-speed internet Perry said her frustration was at its brink when she found out she could order ecoLINK service.

“I’m just so thankful for the cooperative’s servant’s heart approach. They saw a need and are filling it,” Perry says.

Meeting the need for electricity in rural America was how it all began for electric cooperatives. Providing access to electricity was the first step for enhancing quality of life, but it’s certainly not the last. Fiber internet has brought us full circle and is now leading the way, enhancing lives for members and communities.

Setting the bar

Long before opening its first feeder in July 2021, Centranet knew it wanted its subscriber experience to be different from other internet service providers.  

Part of providing such an experience is getting feedback from subscribers. Centranet regularly surveys its subscribers, asking them about their installation experience, and uses that feedback to make improvements in the overall process. 

“Our entire motive is different than a typical ISP,” said Jillianne Tebow, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. “We’re not seeking to gain a large profit, rather, we are looking to solve the issue of rural connectivity and provide an incredible subscriber experience along the way.”

In just two years, Centranet has built more than 1,740 miles of fiber, connected more than 5,000 subscribers and made fiber internet available to 68 percent of the Central Rural Electric Cooperative membership.

In July 2022, Centranet’s first subscribers hit their one-year anniversary of having fast fiber service, and Centranet created a campaign to celebrate that with them.

“We developed a campaign that not only celebrates this milestone but also checks in to see how they are liking their service,” Tebow said. 

After some research, Centranet’s marketing team found a metric that measures customer experience with one simple question:  Using a 0-10 scale, How likely is it that you would recommend Centranet to a friend or colleague? 

“The average Net Promoter Score for ISPs is 30,” Tebow said. “That seemed pretty low to us, but to be honest, we really didn’t know where we would stand.”

According to NPS, scores higher than 0 are typically considered to be good and scores above 50 are considered to be excellent. Centranet has sent more than 1,000 emails in the first six months of the campaign, resulting in an NPS score of 86.

“We are ecstatic at our current results,” Tebow said. “It is a true testament to our employees living our core values and striving to go above and beyond each and every day. We genuinely care about our subscribers, and it shows.”

Life at a Crossroads

On Tecumseh Road in Norman, just off Interstate 35, hides a beacon of hope for children and teens in crisis. Crossroads Youth & Family Services offers a safe place to learn, grow and discover when a permanent home is unavailable.

“We are the only emergency shelter in Cleveland County,” said executive director Wendy Swatek.

Founded in 1969, Crossroads has 33 service agencies operating additional shelters and services across the state. However, this eight-bed shelter is the only one Cleveland County has to offer for teens. Brightly colored, hand-painted murals and a warm, inviting atmosphere provide a sense of safety and security at a time when the young people within its walls need it most.

“The purpose of our shelter is for kids to have a place to stay until a permanent placement is found. Either in a foster home, an adoptive home or possibly a group home,” Swatek said. 

This all-in-one facility houses a variety of spaces designed to give children and teens everything they need to thrive during a difficult time.

Teens have access to a full kitchen, art room and a resource closet where they shop for clothes, bedding and other essentials. A full-service classroom sits on the far side of the shared space along a glass wall. Teachers from Norman Public Schools come here to keep the children’s education on track.

“The kids play here. They sleep here. They watch movies here. All the things you would do in your normal home. We have kiddos here that need all the support they can get, and we’re here providing a safe environment for them,” Swatek said.

To provide this support, Crossroads offers counseling and other family services designed to give children and families the best opportunity for success. They integrated the Head Start program, an income-based service for 0 to 5-year-olds, into their services in 2008.

“What’s unique about Head Start is that it’s a wrap-around service,” Swatek said. “Not only do we educate children in the classroom, but we also have family advocates that serve families as a whole.” 

With 200 to 250 kids coming through the shelter each year, the staffing and resources needed to ensure things run smoothly are hard to come by. With 275 employees serving over 1,050 kids in Head Start, staying on top of things is difficult. It is even harder when an unreliable internet connection hinders staff’s ability to access vital information.

“We use OEC Fiber because it’s the only service we found that works,” Swatek said. “When the internet works, our staff can print, get on their computers and do their intakes with their counseling clients. It’s really changed the way we’ve been able to do business.”

Staff are not the only ones affected by poor internet connection. Kids in the shelter are encouraged to engage in everyday activities like video games, streaming movies and YouTube—all of which require internet. Losing connectivity limits their options and can amplify feelings of ostracization during an already difficult time.

Thanks to the high-quality service OEC Fiber provides, on-site safety at Crossroads has improved.

“We have cameras at our facility for safety purposes,” said Swatek. “There are times we have to pull footage up, and we’re able to see it with a lot of detail because of the strength of our internet service.”

It takes more than good Wi-Fi to make this facility run. Volunteers engage in various activities, from general maintenance and landscaping to mentoring children.

The areas in which people can help are vast. Everything from assisting residents “shopping” in the resource room to keeping the facilities in top shape is encouraged. 
Crossroads Youth & Family Services’ number one goal is to provide children with a safe environment where they can flourish. If you want to get involved in their mission, visit their website at www.crossroadsyfs.org to learn more and volunteer to improve lives.

Cooperatives build

Though the core business purpose of Ozarks Electric Cooperative is to provide reliable, affordable electricity, our larger mission is to make our corner of the world a better place. With that in mind, we knew building and bringing fiber broadband to our community was the right choice with OzarksGo. 

“We want to work to build trust, community, jobs and a better world,” says Kayla Clark, vice president of Member Relations for Ozarks. “The principles of a cooperative guide us in our efforts to provide fiber to our community.” 

Building Trust
Electricity has become such a necessary part of life that we often don’t even think about it until we don’t have it. Access to high-speed internet has become the next essential item communities need. OzarksGo has helped businesses become more efficient, people do more work from home and kids complete schoolwork from home. For us, providing reliable, affordable service is a chance to connect with our members. And we want our members to trust us.

Building Community
Ozarks loves our communities. We also care about the members and customers we serve. By helping build and maintain strong communities through our Ozarks Cares program, we can help improve the lives of our members. Each year, Ozarks Cares gives back thousands of dollars to help local nonprofits and thousands of volunteer hours. We are committed to our people. 

Building Jobs
Ozarks employs currently over 300 employees. We have 246 employees on the electric side and 61 employees on the OzarksGo side. This is beyond what our projected growth was in 2016 when OzarksGo began with only five employees. 

Building a Better World
Ozarks believes in offering our members the best possible service, the best possible experience and the best possible care. We are members, too, and are visible in the communities we serve. We live in the same areas, our children attend the same schools and we shop at the same stores. As a cooperative, we strive to work alongside the membership to ensure that everyone understands that we’re more than just an electric company. We are working with you to build a better a world, and OzarksGo fiber is a part of that.

Reliable Internet: both an urban and rural issue

Downtown Tahlequah | Courtesy Photo

Broadband access is critical to local economies and small businesses, particularly in rural and underserved communities. This is why Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) stepped up to the plate to build fiber optic broadband where no one else was willing to build, similar to electric service 80 years ago.

Rachel Dallis, attorney at law, started her law office in 2018 in downtown Tahlequah before moving to her current location near the Cherokee County Courthouse in 2020.

“I knew how great Lake Region fiber internet was because I had it at home for several years outside of Hulbert. When I first opened my business in Tahlequah, I had another provider, and it was unreliable; it would go out on rainy days, and the speeds were nowhere comparable to Lake Region,” Dallis said.

Lake Region is witnessing daily requests for internet service in larger communities. A faster, more reliable technology internet provider is still needed in many communities currently with other subpar internet service providers. Lake Region is weighing the cost of building mainline infrastructure into Tahlequah’s dense population to pick up more customers per mile of line while helping to offset the cost of building fiber into rural, less populated territory.

“I wasn’t expecting Tahlequah not to have fast, reliable internet for my business when I first opened. I needed a reliable, fast internet connection if I wanted my new law office to become successful,” Dallis said.

Tahlequah is no small town. It is home to a regional public university, two large hospitals, and home of the Cherokee Nation headquarters. Many residents and businesses that call Tahlequah home still lack access to fast, reliable, fiber optic internet technology. The broadband infrastructure movement across the nation and all the funding coming from the government must also consider towns like Tahlequah, lacking this critical infrastructure for the future.

The fiber network Lake Region installs today will be able to handle the increased demand for more bandwidth in the future. As that demand grows, only the network equipment would need to be upgraded over time, not the actual fiber cables.

Fiber optic internet brings opportunities to communities. Not just the opportunity for buffer-free video streaming but opportunities for businesses to expand and for our communities to attract new businesses. Our communities can also attract new residents, who may telecommute, and can only live here because of the power of fast internet.