— from Suzanne Olson, Orcas Power & Light —
The news last week that Orcas Power & Light Co-op and Rock Island have joined forces to deliver Internet services to islanders in San Juan County is the latest in a long chain of thoughtful decisions and deliberate action on the part of the OPALCO leadership.
“This is a community effort reminiscent of getting electricity to the islands back in 1937,” said Bob Myhr, OPALCO Board member since 1986. “It’s a game changer. Moreover, the revenue from Rock Island will come at just the right time to help finance the increasingly expensive costs of necessary future submarine cable replacements, hence — keeping the power flowing to us in the islands.”
OPALCO funded the start-up costs and working capital for Rock Island Communications in the form of a loan. The impact on members is $3 per month for 24 months and is included in the recent rate increase.
The merger with Rock Island is a mutually beneficial effort. Rock Island founder Mike Greene calls it a “win-win-win.” Both parties share a strong desire to meet the communication needs of islanders in San Juan County. Rock Island Communications is a local company committed to providing excellent service for the benefit of the local community.
There are currently 1,982 members in the queue for service – mostly through the more than 80 neighborhood associations who have organized to get connected. Rock Island Communications will reach the breakeven point at 2,000 – 3,000 customers. After that, Rock Island will grow based on demand, funding its own expansion and then returning a positive cash flow to OPALCO.
New Internet connections will be made in a strategic fashion to maximize the number of people reached with greatest cost efficiency. As a result, Rock Island Communications is working first with neighborhood associations and density clusters closest to the existing infrastructure. However, anyone interested in service should fill out the interest form at rockisland.com and get your location on the map for future connections. Rock Island will provide several types of service; availability of services and technologies will vary by location.
“We couldn’t be in a better position,” said Foster Hildreth, OPALCO General Manager and President of Rock Island Communications. “The acquisition of Rock Island allows us to move much faster in getting folks connected to the services they are asking for and speeds up the profitability of the enterprise. We have up to 18 submarine cables to replace over the next 30 years. This revenue stream will help us to fund those capital projects outside of rates.”
There has been an outpouring of support and enthusiasm for the new direction, and the OPALCO leadership recognizes that not every member is happy with this decision. For those who still have questions or concerns about the new entity, please get the facts online at www.opalco.com, rockisland.com or contact Suzanne Olson at solson@opalco.com. OPALCO is still that friendly little Co-op that works hard every day to keep the lights on and rates as low as possible. We care about our members and we are listening.
For the latest information, go to OPALCO’s website: www.opalco.com/; sign up for our email newsletter (www.opalco.com/about/email-signup/); and follow us on Facebook (Orcas Power & Light Cooperative) and Twitter (@orcaspower). OPALCO is our member-owned cooperative, powering more than 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County since 1937.
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Yes it makes sense when forecast assumptions and tactical execution are proven.
So please don’t tell us why it makes sense when you can show us.
From OPALCO’s October 2014 Broadband Business Plan:
“The first five sites to be deployed with a hybrid design by February 2015 are as follows:”
Area / total # / conversion goal / LTE sites / deployment date
Cattle Point 194/70 / 2 / Nov 14
Doe Bay / Eagle Lake 60/50 / 1 / Nov 14
Deer Harbor 120/75 / 2 / Jan 15
South Lopez 86/50 / 1 / Jan 15
SJ West 59/30 / 2 / Feb 15
Aggregate Totals through February per plan:
5 sites
275 subscribers (from conversion)
8 LTE sites
How are the actual totals trending against the business plan forecast through February?
I just heard from a friend who lives in Spring Point (not on the list above) and they just voted to approve construction to install fiber in their neighborhood. So you can add 80 members to the list of those that will get fiber in their neighborhoods. That vote was 85% FOR.
Jay,
I think what Alex is trying to point out is not that people are not supporting the broadband effort, it’s that OPALCO/RI is not meeting it’s scheduled target goals.
Eagle Lake was scheduled to be deployed in November 14th. It’s almost March 14th, and they are still over there trenching.
How many people are actually connected as of today that were not already connected as of October 1? My guess is 0.
Hey Chris, my second week on the new “job” and what I do know is that we have hooked up about a dozen fiber customers on Lopez so far and that was in mid February, so at least 12 since October 1st that I’ve been a part of.
Things are slowly getting ramped up construction wise on the middle and last mile, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been done behind the scenes, far from it.
There is a lot of construction taking place on all islands (it’s just not as obvious) and even more taking place at key strategic points in the network (San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, Bellingham and Seattle) that are all part of this effort.
We are bound by schedules and timelines of other organizations so it’s like a slow moving train with people hopping on and off along the way, but we are steadily moving forward.
There is much to accomplish in the near term with respect to the integration of the two companies, all while bringing in new systems and processes to an already complex workflow. We’ve made good progress in a relatively short period of time and I’ll be glad to be 60 to 90 days down the road from now, when I can turn my attention from integration efforts to building a new network.