RISON - Rally Networks has started connecting its first business and residential customers to the new high-speed fiber optic internet service in Rison, bringing internet speeds that are significantly higher than what was previously available.
Meanwhile, the Arkansas State Broadband Office will be launching a new campaign this month to encourage people to take advantage of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is a federally-funded program that provides up to $30 per month for a high-speed internet connection for those who qualify.
Bruce Grubb, local manager of the Rally Networks operations at Rison, said they began connection some business and residential customers to the new high-speed internet service in mid-January. The new service offers speeds of up to 2 gigabytes (2,000 megabytes) per second.
In August 2021, Arkansas Rural Connect awarded the county a grant of more than $3.7 million to install high-speed fiber optic internet cable within the cities of Kingsland and Rison. Kingsland received $1,949,513 through the grant while Rison received $1,899,497.
Arkansas Rural Connect is a grant program designed to expand the broadband footprint in the state’s rural communities.
In July 2022, Rally Networks (then called ARK-O) held a groundbreaking ceremony in Rison to formally launch construction of the new fiber optic network.
Grubb said crews are nearing completion of the network in Rison while crews in Kingsland are starting to “blow” the fiber optic cable into the underground conduit that has already been laid. He said “splicing crews” are within about two weeks of having all the cabinets in Rison connected to the fiber, and those crews will make their way to Kingsland after that.
Grubb explained that the new service is being implemented (continued from page 1) via "sections" in each community. He said there are five sections in Rison with one section already seeing service while...
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