Good news–Fiber Optic Internet and 1 Gig speeds are coming soon to Rico Colorado! This includes all homes in the Rico Telephone Company service exchange area which are still on copper/DSL. We know you have been waiting a long time for this upgrade and we are thrilled to finally bring you the Internet you need. No more DSL. No more modems! All the speed you could ever want. This fiber-to-the-home multi-year city-wide upgrade project is estimated to be completed by Winter 2024.
Rico residents may notice contractors working in the area starting as soon as the week of June 26, 2023, as we begin the construction process.
Rico Telephone Company, which is operated by parent company, Direct Communications, will spend about $1.4 Million over the next 2 years on this fiber to the home upgrade – which will consist of about $1 million from a federal broadband grant recently awarded to the company for investment in the Rico network, plus $400,000 in private investment from Direct Communications/Rico Telephone Company.
The first phase of the project will involve inspecting, proofing, or repairing any existing conduit, or laying any new necessary main conduits along main routes or streets. After the conduit-proofing phase, we can begin pulling fiber and installing neighborhood nodes. The last phase involves placing fiber drops (installing smaller conduit) all the way to the side your home.
As part of the grant agreement, Rico Telephone Company will make fiber available to every home, which means we will pass each home initially with Fiber to every curb. However, the final fiber drop to the home will be completed only when a customer orders fiber internet service. We will let you know when your fiber connection is ready for service. We will only install a fiber terminal on the side your home once you order fiber-optic service. When everything is in place, we will need to schedule an appointment with you for the final hookup to the network inside your home. We will need a homeowner present at that time.
The grant agreement stipulates that the upgrade will result in at least 100Mbps minimum speed being available to fiber customers, but we plan to offer multiple tier options for customers to choose from including a 1 Gig per second option.
The project will start in July 2023 with engineering and duct proofing. Actual fiber construction will likely only start end of Sep 2023, until the weather allows for the year, and then will pick up again in summer of 2024. Project completion is expected by the winter of 2024.
Thank you for your patience as we roll out this plan and ensure that Rico will have a premier fiber broadband network.