Hope Kiwanis Club Hears Program on Hope Water & Light Broadband

By Mark Keith, 06/23/24 10:12 PM

Picture are Brent Norris, Summer employee Jonathan Parker, and Keegan Johnson

 

The Hope Kiwanis Club heard from two representatives from Hope Water & Light concerning their new broadband service.  Broadband Supervisor Brent Norris opened the program and noted they have installed broadband for about 900 customers in the past year.  Norris has been in his job for about that length of time.

Keegan Johnson followed Norris and noted out of 925 subscribers, Hope Water & Light Broadband serves 42 businesses.  Johnson said the Hope Airport also has the Hope Water & Light service.

Johnson detailed some situations they’ve been working on such as their south booster station.  He noted that helps tie in substations and also offers the Hope schools service from two different directions in case of a failure.  The broadband is also allowing Hope Water & Light to control streetlights and monitor them as well.

The club saw photos of the broadband hub and Johnson explained the functions of the electronics located in the hub.  He noted the hub also has a stand-by generator in case of a power failure so the broadband service can continue.  There are also backups with the equipment in case of failure on that end.  Johnson also explained how Hope Water & Light is working with the Southwest Arkansas Telephone Cooperative on the broadband program.  Johnson showed pictures of the fiber that serves Hope Water & Light from Dallas and Chicago.

All of Hope Water & Light electric customers can get the internet service.  There’s 110 miles of fiber serving the broadband project.  Johnson stressed that all their personnel, including on the phone, are local.  He stressed that if a customer calls about their broadband, they will talk to a local person.

Hope Water & Light offers four options for both residential and business customers.  Residential plans start at $54.95 and the top-tier plan is $99.95 for a gig of internet service.  The business plans start at $74.95 and go to $174.95.  Johnson noted they have a set of technicians who strictly are earmarked for business customers.  He also noted that they suggest to customers to start on the lowest plan and if the customer needs to move to the next tier, they’ll let them know that it’s available and they might want to try it.

Persons who would like learn more about Hope Water & Light broadband can phone 777-3000.