Moore Haven, Florida-based Glades Electric Cooperative has completed a long-planned fiber broadband network into largely unserved parts of the Sunshine State. The 1,600-mile network, built in conjunction with Conexon Connect, now spans Glades, Hendry, Highlands and Okeechobee counties, and the vast majority of the cooperative’s electrical footprint.

Like so many U.S. cooperatives, Glades Electric, founded in 1945, is leveraging a long history with rural electrification to inform its fiber broadband expansion plans and bring connectivity to those long-stranded by market failure and a lack of Internet access competition.

Also like most U.S cooperatives, the upgrades not only bring affordable Internet access, they aid in monitoring and repairing the existing electrical network.

“In addition to closing the digital divide for our cooperative members, we are pleased to update and expand our communications to our substations, corporate offices, grid connected devices and beyond, as a result of our project and long-term partnership with Conexon Connect,” said Michael Roberge, Glades Electric Cooperative CEO

For many rural Florida subscribers getting fiber for the first time, the speeds and pricing are better than what’s seen in many urban markets.

Image

Conexon offers locals four fiber pricing tiers: an “Essentials” plan offering 200 megabits per second (Mbps) symmetrical for $59.95 per month; a “Premier” plan delivers up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) symmetrical for $79.95 per month; an “Ultimate” plan offering symmetrical 2 Gbps for $99.95 per month; and the top-tier “Elite” symmetrical 5 Gbps plan with variable pricing.