In February Lumos announced a $56 million project to install high-speed fiber optic cable in New Hanover County. While work to date has all been behind the scenes, Lumos is now ready to start installation of fiber in the area to deliver Wi-Fi coverage.
“There was a new process for new businesses to come into the city of Wilmington. That process for us wrapped up in the last 30 days, and we are now in the permitting phase of the project. We are expecting to start putting fiber in the ground any day now,” said Derek Kelly, vice president of market development for the High Point-based company.
Kelly said the partnership between Lumos and the city of Wilmington has been very well received. “The welcome we have received from the permitting staff, city leadership and the county has been great. They see the value of fiber,” he said.
Kelly said the existing cable infrastructure was built for the last 50 years of TV and adapted for the internet. Fiber is built for upload speed which is the primary differentiator from cable.
“Fiber will set Wilmington up for the next 50 years,” he said. “For residential customers we are offering speeds up to 5 gig in and out of the home. People in Wilmington are starting to grasp how important upload speed is and understanding the difference between cable and fiber. They see the benefit of the short-term disruption for the long-term benefit. It may be hard to imagine what future applications will use a 5 gig connection, but the installation will enable future technologies like improved cameras and remote work.”
Wilmington is set to become the newest city in North Carolina to begin
Metronet also recently began to install fiber-optic cable, investing in a $30 million network in the region. The Indiana-based company’s construction began on June 28.
Kelly, with Lumos, pointed out that fiber is influencing home choice. Real estate agents are being asked if there is fiber in the house by home buyers. “Those homes that don’t have fiber are at a disadvantage. We are solving this ahead of time,” he said.
As Lumos goes into each residential area, residents will receive mailers explaining what to expect. There will be signage and door knockers placed on doors. Residents will have the opportunity to indicate the location of invisible dog fences or sprinkler systems to avoid accidental digs before construction starts.
“We go through a process to locate and mark existing utilities. While accidents can happen, we take great strides in industry standards and safety to avoid anything already in the ground,” Kelly said.
Service will be offered to customers as fiber is installed, so residents will not have to wait for the entire city’s installation to be completed to take advantage of the faster speeds. “That means, our first customers will have fiber service available very soon,” Kelly said.
Kelly explained Lumos’s differentiators from incumbent providers who have been servicing Wilmington for the past 20 to 30 years.
“We are a local North Carolina-based company, and we do business the local way. You can pick up the phone and call us as your first line of defense. We have techs to come onsite if necessary. There is no cost for standard trouble tickets. The service we provide is above and beyond – our Net Promoter Score is through the roof,” he said.
While it’s still too early to talk about the neighborhood-by-neighborhood plan, general information is available on the Lumos website where residents can plug in an address to see status.
“We are excited to put fiber in the ground,” Kelly said. “We are getting into a rhythm with the permit process. It all comes down to service, speed and reliability. We think everyone should have access to fiber.”
