Allo Fiber making connections throughout Joplin

Allo Fiber is all about making connections.

The Nebraska telecommunications company was contracted by the city to be a Joplin broadband provider in 2024, broke ground later that year, and recently went live with its first customer.

Joplin is one 50 communities in four states - Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and now Missouri - served by the company.

But that's just one way of connecting the community.

There are others.

They include Allo Fiber working with the Downtown Joplin Association on events such as the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony in Spiva Park, or supporting Third Thursday, or being a title sponsor for the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Golden Apple awards honoring teachers, or helping fund the "All Aboard" mural by artist Sandra Dawn on the exterior of Smith's Floor Store, 814 S. Main St

The goal: "To bring togetherness back," said Qwyntnn Brown, field marketing specialist and MDU account manager for Allo in Joplin.

Ring around Joplin

Meanwhile crews have been digging their way around Joplin to lay fiber optic line.

"Currently, our fiber ring has been finished. It was developed as a ring around Joplin," said Brown, explaining the work the company is doing to connect Joplin with fiber optic.

The ring is just what it sounds like, said Brandon Warren, manager of plant operations.

"The ring is like the backbone of the entire network," he said, adding that its buried and protected underground.

On that ring are two central offices, one on 26 Street and the other on second street, where the generators are stored, giving the company redundancy in case of a natural or other disaster.

Next up, Allo is developing its PONs, or Passive Optical Network, with is connection to 1,000 homes and or businesses. They connect to the fiber ring, said Brown.

"The way I like to describe it is sort of like a school district, you know, they way an elementary school serves a neighborhood."

"We have our very first live optical network," she said in March, with their first customer going live March 10.

Anybody in Joplin can sign up now and they receive priority connection as the PONS are completed.

Warren said the PONs are connected by a combination of aerial and underground fiber.

Customers also can add fiber television and fiber phone services.

Besides its two central operations on the ring, the company also has built out its presence with a a warehouse on Seventh Street and a storefront at 512 S. Main St.

Multi-year search

Allo's arrival in Joplin was the result of a multi-year effort by the city of Joplin and a consultant it hired to bring high-speed internet service here.

Allo was awarded a contract for that in April 2024 by the City Council and a groundbreaking was held that fall. Allo projected a two-year timeline to have its complete fiber-optic system in place.

"What we're bringing is an all-fiber network that will serve substantially all of the community," Allo president and CEO Brad Moline said at the groundbrteaking.

Allo, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, will invest about $40 million to build the system, he said.

City officials sought out a fiber-optic provider after learning during the recovery from the 2011 Joplin tornado that many parts of the city had unreliable or slow internet service.

An effort to attract potential providers of faster and more reliable service across the city began in 2020 after a city-appointed appointed steering committee of community leaders met to develop a technology plan for Joplin. Internet access was at the top of a list of priorities established by the committee. That resulted in the city commissioning a broadband analysis study that was completed in 2021.

Consultants who assisted the city to recruit firms that might make offers to provide broadband service here started with nine companies and helped city officials narrow the field to three. Allo's experience and ability to provide a sizable investment in the system brought that company to the top. The company has been in business since 2003.

Last year, ALLO Fiber announced the completion of its 100% fiber-optic network in Greeley, Colorado, following a build that began in August 2021. Earlier this year, the company announced the completion of multiple fiber-to-the-premise broadband projects in Nebraska, expanding high-speed internet access to thousands of homes and businesses in rural and underserved Nebraska communities through grants awarded by the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

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Qwyntnn Brown, field marketing specialst and MDU account manager.

417-438-2296.

"Currently, our fiber ring has been finished. It was developed as a ring around Joplin."

They have two generators, one on 26th and the other on Second Street, for redundancy.

They have a storefront at 512 S. Main Street and. warehouse on Seventh St.

They are developing their PONs, or Passive Optical Network, with is connection to 1,000 rooftops, could be commercial or residential.

They connect to the fiber link.

"The way I like to describe it is sort of like a school district, you know, they way an elementary school serves a neighborhood."

"we have our very first live optical network."

First customer went live March 10.

Anybody in Joplin can sign up and they priority connection as the PONS are completed.

They are working on connectivity of another kind, connect Joplin supporting events such as the tree lighting ceremony last fall and the Downtown Joplin Alliance, the Golden Apple awards, and more. They sponsored a mural at 8th and Main.

"To bring togetherness back."

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Brandon Warren, manager of plant operations'

417-483-3801

"The ring is like the backbone of the entire network," he said. It is buried and protected underground.

The PONs will be a combination of aerial and underground fiber.

CO, or Central officers, are where the generators are stored.

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Joplin's new broadband provider, Allo Fiber, expects to connect its first customers later this year.

After a five-year effort by Joplin city officials and a consultant to bring fast-speed internet service here, Allo was awarded a contract for that in April 2024 by the City Council. Allo projected a two-year timeline to have its complete fiber-optic system in place. A groundbreaking ceremony that marked the start of construction was held in November.

"What we're bringing is an all-fiber network that will serve substantially all of the community," Allo president and CEO Brad Moline said at that event.

Allo, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, will invest about $40 million to build the system, he said.

While a number of contractors and crews will be here to do the construction, the company will bring about 40 permanent jobs to operate the business. An office for Joplin operations and customers is at 512 S. Main St.

City officials sought out a fiber-optic provider after learning during the recovery from the 2011 Joplin tornado that many parts of the city had unreliable or slow internet service.

An effort to attract potential providers of faster and more reliable service across the city began in 2020 after a city-appointed appointed steering committee of community leaders met to develop a technology plan for Joplin. Internet access was at the top of a list of priorities established by the committee. That resulted in the city commissioning a broadband analysis study that was completed in 2021.

Consultants who assisted the city to recruit firms that might make offers to provide broadband service here started with nine companies and helped city officials narrow the field to three. Allo's experience and ability to provide a sizable investment in the system brought that company to the top.

Recently, some online industry publications such as Policyband, Light Reading and Broadband Breakfast, posted stories that Allo was asking employees for voluntary resignations. Those publications said the company was short of cash because of a lag in investors and because there was a delay in the company receiving a $42 billion federal grant from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Tanna Hanna, spokesman for Allo Fiber, told the Globe in an email response to questions that the Joplin project is financially sound.

"As we have done throughout our 22-year history, ALLO will allocate resources toward constructing new markets and regions like Joplin while continuing to provide exceptional service to customers in our existing markets," she said.

"To deliver a great service at a fair price, we must be efficient. As our construction of any market concludes, we require fewer personnel. While we retain as many employees as possible to support our growth, we must occasionally eliminate certain roles that are no longer required," Hanna said of the layoffs.

"Our fiber build in Joplin is ongoing, and we expect to install our first customers later this year."

The company specializes in buildouts of entire communities and continues to attract investments to do that, she said. "For context, over the last 12 months we have raised and invested over $500 million of new capital (debt and equity) into the business."

She also said the company has experienced "extraordinary growth."

"We've completed nearly 200,000 passings in our footprint over the last 12 months, the highest volume ever recorded by the company since inception in 2006. Today, we have nearly 700,000 passings across Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, and Missouri and continue to add new markets to existing and new states," Hanna said.

Passings are homes, businesses and other places where a fiber-optic line has been placed close enough to serve those locations.

"The city is pleased with the progress Allo has made in constructing a high-speed fiber optic network," City Manager Nick Edwards said in a statement. "We know how important it is to have a quality, reliable, high-speed internet connection. While business operations can be challenging, especially given the current economic conditions, we are thankful for Allo's commitment to the city of Joplin."

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