Building the hive

A key ingredient to building a successful and stable fiber network begins with a well-laid plan. There are many steps in the process to bring Buzz Broadband right to your door. We know you’re anxious to hook up to our supercharged internet, but we can’t take shortcuts.

Rest assured, Buzz Broadband crews are out in the community working every day to get you the service as quickly as possible while maintaining our system’s integrity. To help you understand the installation process and what might slow it down, we have a step-by-step guide:

At any time in the construction process, anyone in our service area can let us know they are interested in Buzz Broadband service by preregistering. Customers may remain in this phase for many months, depending on their locations.

After an extensive design process, a preconstruction crew assesses the accuracy of design maps and estimates supplies and equipment needed to build in an area. Securing materials sometimes presents challenges because of global supply chain issues. We may be working in your neighborhood for six months before you see the first bucket truck.

Our mainline fiber optic crew installs

144-strand main fiber optic cables that serve as the backbone of our broadband infrastructure. This backbone branches off into neighborhoods and will eventually connect the fiber to your home. So far, around 91% of our mainline fiber has been placed in the field.

4. Preparation

Crews prepare branches to connect to customers by placing fiber taps and splicing fiber optic cables. This is time-consuming, as cables are ultrathin, roughly the diameter of human hair.

5. Notification

Once construction and activation are complete, Buzz Broadband notifies customers who have preregistered that our fast fiber internet service is ready for installation.

6. Registration

A customer registers for service by paying and joining the installation list.

7. Fiber deployment

Crews first hang aerial cables. Aerial cables are suitable for areas with existing pole networks or rural environments without the physical restrictions of an urban landscape, such as asphalt. If the entire service is aerial, we are normally able to complete the installation within 30 days.

Next, we bury fiber cables, if needed.

y Inability to access property because of locked gates, unsocialized dogs or other reasons y Hidden underground facilities, like septic tanks, water lines and personal power lines connected to other structures on the property that have not been located by the owner to show technicians y Poor weather conditions y A need for special equipment, like boring rigs to go under driveways

Many houses have overhead power for several hundred feet to accommodate fiber cables, but then they must go underground. This step takes longer — usually within 60 days — because aerial cables must be in place before lines are buried.

8. Installation

Once the fiber drop is to the house, we are ready to install service, which can be completed within a few days, based on customer availability. Since this involves being inside the home, we must schedule this portion with the customer.

When service is set up, you join the hive, where customers have access to top quality internet with equal upload/download speeds of 200 Mbps up to 2 Gbps, without data caps or contracts.

Thank you for your patience as we work to provide you with fast, reliable and affordable internet.

To find out when Buzz Broadband will be available in your neighborhood, find your location on the interactive service maps at buzzbroadband.com. It provides information about the status of construction and service in each part of the CEC ser vice area. You can preregister and receive notifications when service becomes available to you. You can also reach a Buzz Broadband representative by calling 833-399-BUZZ (2899) during regular business hours. 