It wasn’t long ago that our community was eagerly awaiting KUB Fiber. The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that high-speed internet was no longer a luxury, but a necessity for individuals and communities to thrive. So, Knoxville Utilities Board added its fifth utility and connected its first KUB Fiber customer in October 2022.
Just under 2½ years later, our fiber system is halfway constructed, and nearly 84,000 residential and business customers across our service territory have access to affordable internet with KUB Fiber.
Next year, we will enter the third and final phase of fiber network construction. When that work is complete in 2027, all KUB electric customers will have access to the fastest internet in town, and they will also benefit from enhanced electric reliability that fiber technology brings.
Reaching underserved communities
As a not-for-profit utility provider, the intention behind KUB Fiber was to provide an impactful service to all our customers. In our planning, we focused on rural communities that were previously underserved or unserved by other high-speed fiber internet providers, and we started work to develop a program to assist lower-income student households.
Today, KUB Fiber is available to all KUB customers in Union and Grainger Counties and construction is planned in Sevier and Jefferson Counties. Customers who once didn’t even have reliable cellphone service can now rely on KUB for connectivity, making remote work and internet-reliant schoolwork a reality. The impact on these customers cannot be overstated.
Removing barriers for low-income students
Through our new KUB ConnectED program, K-12 students in income-eligible households receive free KUB Fiber services with funding from Knox County and the City of Knoxville. KUB ConnectED is already serving 166 students, and I am excited to see this program expand.
The benefits of KUB Fiber
As we enter the home stretch of our fiber network rollout, I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished. We said KUB Fiber would be fastest, friendliest, and for all. We’re delivering on these promises with 1 gig upload and download speeds and television and home phone services to meet the unique needs of our residential and business customers – all backed by local customer service that has resulted in a 97% customer satisfaction rate.
Not only are our residential customers experiencing internet speeds and quality customer service they had not previously, but our business customers are seeing positive impacts of KUB Fiber as well. As hundreds of businesses in our area switch to KUB Fiber, we’ve continued to receive positive feedback about how our services help them run their operations more efficiently to better serve their customers. The cost effectiveness of KUB Fiber, paired with our symmetrical upload and download speeds, helps businesses in our area thrive.
I can’t wait to bring our services to every customer in our electric service territory, living up to our commitment of public service and enhancing the quality of life in our East Tennessee communities.
For information about KUB Fiber and to check when it will be available to you, visit www.kub.org/fiber.
Gabriel J. Bolas II is president & CEO of Knoxville Utilities Board. He joined KUB in 1995 as an engineer and has served in numerous leadership roles over the past 30 years.
