From left, Lee Foley with Conexon; Jim Alexander with Erbin Cable; Rich Cinninger with Kosciusko Connect; Jeff Moore with KREMC; Kurt Carver, KREMC president and CEO; Curt Barkey, KREMC Vice President of Technology & Broadband; homeowners and KREMC customers Phillip Fink and Amber Fink; Adam Churchill with Kosciusko Connect; and John Lindsay with Kosciusko Connect. Photo by David Slone

Staff Report

WARSAW — The first official fiber-to-the-home internet network hook-up through Kosciusko Connect was performed Thursday, Dec. 9.

Kosciusko Connect is a subsidiary of Kosciusko REMC (KREMC) that offers fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband internet to all KREMC members. Kosciusko Connect was first introduced in September 2020.

In March 2021, it was announced that the two-year FTTH project had officially begun, with home installation to potentially begin as early as Fall of 2021. 

Representatives of KREMC, Kosciusko Connect, Conexon and Erbin Cable gathered at 1330 N. Antler Drive in Warsaw Thursday afternoon at the home of KREMC members Phillip and Amber Fink, the first community members to be connected to Kosciusko Connect’s network.

“This is a significant step in our journey to connect rural Kosciusko County and surrounding communities to reliable, high-speed internet,” said KREMC Vice President of Technology & Broadband Curt Barkey. 

Prior to the Finks’ connection, Barkey said, they worked with “Friendlies” – customers who allowed the company to come in and test their processes, software and network speeds.

“Everything has been working as designed and everybody has done a great job and we’re ready to start connecting people,” Barkey said.

The Finks’ home installation is Kosciusko Connect’s first in Zone 1 of their initial five-zone buildout. Construction in other zones is  proceeding on schedule. 

For now, the Kosciusko Connect customer service team is reaching out to pre-registered members to schedule service drops and home installations when service becomes available.

According to a post on the Kosciusko Connect Facebook page, the residential fiber plans go up to 1,000 Mbps with unlimited data and enough bandwidth to support all devices in a home. 

Regarding pricing, Barkey said, “We’re very comparable. What makes our service different is our upload and download speeds are symmetrical.”

For more information, visit the Kosciusko Connect website. Anyone interested in fiber is asked to pre-register on the site in order to help Kosciusko Connect gauge the need in the community and plan efficiently.

Pre-registration does not obligate anyone to the service.