Getting Connected to Fidium Fiber — What is the Process?
The speed at which CCI/Fidium Fiber has built the fiber optic distribution network in Lamoille County is truly astounding! Crews worked late into the night and on weekends — a tip of the cap for their dedication. Now it’s time for installations!
This post reviews the basic steps so you will know what to expect when Fidium brings the fiber from the network to your home or business.
Basic Steps
When you contact Fidium for an appointment (877-957-0687) or they contact you, we recommend you tell them if you have a standard or non-standard drop. See definitions below. Here are the typical steps that will occur:
- Site/Infrastructure Evaluation — Fidium technicians will visit your property to decide what type of installation (“the drop” in techy terms — more on drops below) is needed to bring fiber from the pole or terminal to your building. In some cases, more than one visit may be needed. You do not need to be present for this step.
- Bring Fiber from the Road to your Building — This step is the execution of what was decided in Step 1; some installations such as short aerial connections may be done during the initial visit, while other drops may require additional visits.
- Connect your Building and Devices — This requires a technician to bring the network feed cable (that ends in a box outside your building) inside and connect it to your gateway (modem + router). (A modem connects to Fidium’s internet service; a router connects the modem to your computer, TV, and other devices.)
Installing the “Drop” (detail on Item 2 above)
When the technicians visit, they will determine the distance from the closest network pole or terminal to your building and the appropriate type of installation or “drop.” There are two possible drops: Standard and Non-Standard. There is no customer charge for standard drops. Customers must pay for Non-Standard drops.
- Standard Drop, Existing Aerial — This means you have overhead telephone wires leading to your house. The fiber optic cable can be lashed to these wires, typically during this initial visit.
- Standard Drop, Existing Conduit — This means you have suitable (undamaged telecommunications) conduit already leading to your house that the technicians can pull the fiber optic cable through, typically in the initial visit.
- Standard Drop, No Existing Aerial or Conduit — This means your house is within 500 feet of the pole or terminal, but the current drop is a “direct bury” with no conduit. This situation will require Fidium to schedule Dig Safe to visit your property to mark out a safe route. Once Dig safe has marked out the property, Fidium will schedule the trenching and installation of the conduit and fiber. This may take 1-3 weeks due to the current demand for service.
- NON-standard Drop — Your house is more than 500 feet from the pole/terminal and has no aerial wires or suitable conduit. This situation requires homeowner investment to get fiber to the house, typically by having a contractor install suitable conduit. Again, if underground is required; Dig Safe will be required. After suitable conduit is installed, you can contact Fidium to schedule pulling the fiber through the new conduit to your house. There is no charge for the fiber pull. See https://lamoillefiber.net/underground-service/ for a list of Lamoille contractors.
Non-Standard Drop Funding Assistance:
Lamoille FiberNet has limited funding available to help offset the cost of non-standard drop installations — we need your information to develop a policy that fairly distributes available funds.
If your installation situation is NON-standard and your address is in Lamoille FiberNet’s Phase I region of one of these towns: Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Hyde Park, Johnson, Waterville, and Wolcott, then please fill in the form at https://forms.office.com/g/LVNtYN2qBp to be eligible for funding. Paper copies of the survey are available at town offices for towns listed above.
Note: Towns listed above allocated a portion of their ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant funds to enhance broadband internet access. Elmore, Morristown, and Stowe had already directed their ARPA funds toward other expenses.
For more information, please go to http://www.LamoilleFiber.net, email info@lamoilefiber.net, or contact your local representative: https://lamoillefiber.net/about-lamoille-fibernet/
LAMOILLE FIBERNET MISSION:
To prioritize access of unserved and underserved addresses to symmetrical, high-speed, and affordable internet service — as soon as possible.
