FEBRUARY 2022
THE MESSENGER A Publication for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative Members
Subscribe to NEXT NEXT mails a packet to your home or business when construction nears completion in your area. Visit mynextfiber.com or call 870-895-3221. INTERNET Features symmetrical upload and download speeds with no data limits. We offer three packages: • Basic* (Speeds up to 100 Mbps) — $49.95 • Streaming (Speeds up to 300 Mbps) — $64.95 • Advanced (Speeds up to 1 Gbps) — $79.95 • Residential gateway/ router service — $4.95 PHONE Includes unlimited local and long-distance calling. • Residential phone — $27.95 • Battery backup — $5 TELEVISION Along with the four packages below, we offer whole-home DVR for an additional $10 as well as extra movie and sports packages. • Local HD — $38.95 • Complete HD — $95.95 • Advanced HD — $114.95 • Ultra HD — $155.95 • Set-top box — $6.95 BUNDLE AND SAVE • Three services = $12 off a month • Two services = $6 off *Reflects current residential pricing. Call 870-895-3221 or visit mynextfiber.com for complete price list, which includes business services.
NEXT outside plant technician Keith Guffey terminates fiber-optic cable on a pole that will deliver NEXT’s high-speed internet to Tracy Ferry Marina on Lake Norfork.
NEXT tops 10,000 subscribers North Arkansas Electric Cooperative’s fiber-optic subsidiary NEXT, Powered by NAEC reached a subscriber milestone in late 2021. More than 10,000 co-op members now have NEXT’s high-speed internet as well as the economic and educational advantages such access affords. NAEC formed NEXT in March 2016 as a pilot project to bridge the “digital divide” rural co-op members faced. It was to offer internet with speeds of up to 1 gigabit-per-second as well as phone and television services. “The pilot was a great success in regard to subscriber take-rates and satisfaction,” CEO Mel Coleman said. “It also validated our construction estimates and ensured we could build this vital communications infrastructure to the rest of the territory while being good stewards of our member-owned cooperative.” The NAEC Board of Directors approved expansion to the remainder of the co-op’s 30,000 members in mid-2018, and a fiveyear construction project began. “We must give credit to our NAEC and NEXT employees and contractors,” said Scott Hamby, NEXT vice president of operations. “Their dedication to the work at hand has allowed us to turn a five-year build into a four-year one. We plan to finish constructing the fiber-optic network to our remaining members by the end of 2022.” The fiber-optic line is built along the electric feeders out of NAEC’s substations. Construction is in progress now in and around Clarkridge, Gepp, Midway, Oakland, Tracy and Wirth. The first quarter of 2022 will see construction in the Mallard Point, Myron and Pineville areas. Brockwell, Gamaliel, Oxford, Violet Hill and surrounding areas will be next.
High-speed advantages NEXT not only benefits existing NAEC members, but its high-speed internet also makes our area attractive to people and businesses considering relocation, said Mike Beam, NEXT vice president of business strategy and development. “We’ve seen explosive growth from folks who are moving into our region and need true high-speed internet as they work and learn from home,” Beam said. “Real-estate See 10,000 on back.