ecoLINK Receives 'Conexon 100 Club' Honor Following Fiber-to-the-Home On-System Network Completion

12:09PM June 03, 2024

ecoLINK and East Central Electric Cooperative have been recognized as an inaugural inductee into the Conexon 100 Club, following the FTTH network completion within its service territory. The recognition program debuted by rural fiber broadband leader Conexon honors the achievement of ensuring 100 percent of its members have access to reliable, affordable broadband service.

The Conexon 100 Club was created to showcase what electric co-ops across the nation have accomplished to bridge the digital divide and deliver fiber-to-the-home access to even the most rural, hardest-to-reach areas of their service territory – so that every member, home, and business can thrive with the community-transforming power of high-speed internet.

ecoLINK began construction of its 4,153-mile network in March of 2019 and completed in July of 2023. The network spans 9 counties in Oklahoma. To date, ecoLINK has connected over 16,863 subscribers with take rates averaging 55%.

ecoLINK powered by East Central Electric Cooperative is one of 25 electric cooperatives across 10 states to date that have achieved Conexon 100 Club status as of the end of Q1 2024, becoming a part of the program’s inaugural class.

ecoLINK selected Conexon to assist in its fiber broadband project, leveraging the expertise and end-to-end services Conexon provides to design, construct, and operate fiber-optic networks with its clients across rural America. The partnership ensures world-class fiber internet to every corner of the co-op’s service territory, even the most remote rural areas, further contributing to the efforts of bridging the digital divide nationwide.  

“Since we began our work, we have adhered to one overarching principle: Every member of an electric co-op should be afforded access to world-class fiber-optic service. Some electric co-ops serve members over thousands of miles of electric distribution lines, so to build fiber across those thousands of miles can take years of construction,” said Conexon co-CEO Jonathan Chambers. “We want to honor those co-ops who began and completed that long journey. These are significant milestones, ones that have gone largely unnoticed by the broadband industry. We simply want to celebrate these milestones in some small way by recognizing the hard work and perseverance of so many electric co-op boards, management, and personnel.”

Conexon and Conexon Connect work with electric cooperatives and community entities committed to serving residents with fiber broadband. With its clients, the company has secured more than $2 billion in federal, state, and local funding; designed more than 200,000 miles of fiber nationwide; and builds more than 50,000 miles of fiber annually – resulting in more than 1.1 million rural Americans connected to world-class fiber broadband.

“We are proud to partner with co-ops across the nation to transform the opportunities available to rural American homes and businesses,” said Randy Klindt, Conexon Founding Partner and co-CEO. “We are even more proud today to recognize our partners who have gotten that job done to improve the lives and communities of those they serve.”

About Conexon
Conexon is an industry-leading broadband network design, construction and operations firm working with electric cooperatives, communities and other entities to deploy fiber to the home across rural America. Since its inception a decade ago, Conexon has collaborated with electric cooperatives across 80 markets to launch and deploy fiber-to-the-home networks in their territories, with more than 20 projects now reaching 100 percent of members. The company’s internet service provider, Connect, today delivers multi-gigabit speed internet across many of those markets. Through Conexon’s work with its partners, nearly 3 million rural Americans now have access to fiber to the home, with more than 1.1 million connected. The company has designed more than 200,000 miles of fiber and builds more than 50,000 miles annually.  With more than $2 billion in federal, state, and local grants and subsidies for FTTH projects, Conexon and its partners have collectively secured more federal broadband funding for fiber construction than any other group in the country.