Fairfax, Oklahoma’s most recent claim to fame was Killers of the Flower Moon, a film which brought Hollywood legends Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio to the town of roughly 1100 residents in 2021. Now, Fairfax has another distinction: It is the first town to be connected to the internet by Cox Communications on a fiber network leased from a local power provider.
“About two years ago our board decided it was time for us to get serious about providing service to members with no other options,” said Indian Electric Cooperative CEO Todd Schroeder. “But our feasibility studies showed a huge capital investment would be required, and we wanted to be responsible with our member money.”
Schroeder said Indian Electric Cooperative (IEC) created a subsidiary to provide broadband, as a number of other electric co-ops and utilities have done, but “that was never our preferred option because of the capex .. well over $100 million would have been required.” Then an IEC board member who knew a Cox employee told Schroeder the giant ISP was “looking at ways to get into rural Oklahoma.”
Cox and IEC quickly realized they could work together. IEC is now building a fiber network to connect its circuit breakers, and any fiber not needed for the smart grid will be leased to Cox, which will sign up broadband subscribers and operate the network. Schroeder anticipates that ultimately almost all of IEC’s 14,000 members will be passed by the new fiber network.
Schroeder said the co-op has committed to invest about $7 million so far to build roughly 80 route miles of fiber, and has financed the build through a co-op lending service. IEC has applied for an American Rescue Plan grant, and has hired a full-time employee to apply for federal and state grants.
“Our entire service territory is considered tribal by the federal government and several tribes have gotten National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) money,” said Schroeder. He added one of them may lease network assets from IEC in a deal that will be similar to the one IEC made with Cox.
IEC’s fiber will terminate in Clearfield cabinets, where Cox will bring in its connections and take the fiber to individual homes, Schroeder explained. The companies said Cox is responsible for all equipment needed to light up the fiber and deliver service to the customers.
John Hays, VP strategic solutions market expansion at Cox, said Fairfax will be the first part of the IEC territory to get fiber internet service from Cox. He said service should be available by the end of 2023. In addition to multi-gigabit, symmetrical broadband, Cox will offer its Contour TV product, as well as mobile phone service through its Cox Mobile MVNO. IEC members will pay the same prices customers pay for the equivalent Cox services in Tulsa and other parts of Oklahoma, the companies said.
Schroeder said each time Cox signs up a new customer in IEC territory, IEC will get a share of the revenue. In addition, Cox is paying IEC to maintain the IEC fiber, Schroeder said.
Take rates for the new broadband service could easily surpass 50%, Schroeder predicted. “This is the only option for many people,” he said. “I feel very strongly that if we don’t see 60%, 70%, 80% take rates in some areas, something is wrong.”
IEC is the first co-op from which Cox has leased a fiber network, but the ISP hopes it will not be the last. “We are actively pursuing organizations to partner with to replicate this model,” said Hays.