Blue Springs Ridge

The Sunday News, March 16, 2008; The Manchester Times, March 19, 2008; Ben Lomand Telephone CO-OP, Inc. Network News, April 2008
Ben Lomand Telephone has completed its first fiber optic installation in Coffee County.  The cable was installed in Blue Springs Ridge subdivision being developed by Norman Finney.  Gathered to mark completion of the project are, from left, home builder Justin Bryan, Tommy Brown of Ben Lomand, Finney and Ray Cantrell and Harry Felty, of Ben Lomand.  The new cable installation will provide homeowners in the subdivision with telephone, television and Internet services.

    HILLSBORO - Ben Lomand Telephone Cooperative has completed laying the framework for Coffee County's first ever deployment of fiber-to-the-home services.

    The company is working with developer Norman Finney to install fiber optic cable in Blue Springs Ridge, a new housing development located on Highway 41 south towards Hillsboro.

    Finney first contact Ben Lomand in January 2007 about the possibility of bringing fiber to Blue Springs Ridge, citing his desire to provide new residents with the fastest Internet speeds available.

    "I wanted the speed for our customers," said Finney.  "Ben Lomand's credibility has always been high and they have a reputation for providing quality services.  We are also building quality homes with James Bryan of Bryan Homebuilders.  We are excited that our first home is almost completed," Finney said.

     In Blue Springs Ridge, Ben Lomand will initially use the fiber to provide local telephone, television and Internet services.  Up to 10mbps download speeds will be offered to residents - speeds equivalent to about 175 times that of traditional dial-up Internet services.

     While faster Internet speeds is perhaps the most notable feature for consumers, fiber-to-the-home provides other benefits outside such as crystal clear telephone calls and the ability to handle the demands of bandwith intensive applications such as high-definition television.

     Fiber is also less susceptible to outages caused by weather or electromagnetic interference, which can sometimes affect services provided over traditional copper wire.

     Installing fiber-to-the-home in Blue Springs Ridges aligns with Ben Lomand's long-term strategy to use fiber in all areas where new telecommunications services will be offered.

     The company already has several other fiber-to-the-home deployments in its incumbent area of McMinnville.

    "The company's goal is to install fiber in all new subdivisions," said Ray Cantrell, network operations manager for Ben Lomand.

     "As entertainment services increasingly become 'on demand' in nature, they require more significant amounts of bandwidth.  By using fiber in new developments, we 'future proof' our network and ensure that Ben Lomand can accommodate the bandwidth needs of these services both now and for years to come."

     Ben Lomand Rural Telephone Coorperative is one of the largest telephone cooperatives in the nation, serving approximately 42,000 customers with telephone, television and Internet services.