From the moment that I started working in the telecommunications industry, I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. Fiber optic has sparked my interest in the last few years, and the telecommunications industry is expanding on it tremendously. Rural telephone companies and communications providers have started to use grant money to expand their network also. Here are a few companies that are taking full advantage of the fiber optic boom.
Nex-Tech Rural Telephone
Contact
https://www.nex-tech.com/Home.aspx
2418 Vine St, Hays, KS 67601
toniah@nex-tech.com– Tonia Houghton, Human Resources Specialist
General Information
Nex-Tech is a communications provider that provides high-speed internet access to west central Kansas. Nex-Tech also provides network monitoring and cloud storage services to internet service providers across the United States. Nex-Tech employs 250-300 people and has 3 locations in and around Hays, KS.
Interest in Employer
Ever since I have lived in Hays, Nex-Tech has been one of the companies that has stuck out the most. I found it very interesting that they deployed fiber to the home in Hays in less than a year. This insane accomplishment really sparked my interest in the company. There are very few cities the size of Hays that have fiber optic to the home to every home. On top of that accomplishment, they also had the fiber optic implemented before any of the federal grant money was released. This company is also still expanding their fiber territory as we speak. I would really enjoy working for a company with the same values as Nex-Tech. My research for this company strengthened my interest. I knew that Nex-Tech was a good company to work for already, but the ongoing construction really sparked my interest.
Questions to help me succeed
Do you plan on implementing fiber to the home in rural areas?
How many customers do you currently have?
What are the roles and responsibilities of the network support team?
Wamego Telephone Company
Contact
1009 Lincoln Ave, Wamego, KS 66547
esiebert@wtcks.com Emily Siebert, Administrative Assistant
General Information
Wamego Telephone Company is an internet communications provider that serves the areas around Manhattan, KS. They provide fiber to the home internet to everyone in their service area. Just last year, WTC started providing business exclusive fiber internet in Manhattan, KS. Wamego Telephone Company employs 15-50 employees and is located in Wamego, KS.
Interest in Employer
When I started working at my current job, I had to run down to Wamego Telephone Company to pick up a part. When I arrived, they gave me a tour of their central office and telephone switches. They have state of the art facilities and very knowledgeable employees that are always focused on improving things. One thing I found interesting about the company is that they use indoor Optical Network Terminals instead of outdoor. I have never heard of anyone doing this and I was very intrigued. The indoor ONT was actually cheaper than the outdoor one because it had a built-in WIFI 6 router. This company is still expanding today and I enjoy the small size of it. My research strengthened my interest because I found out that they also use all Calix based products. Calix is a state of the art communications company that provides fiber to the home products that work very well. The more I researched this company, the more I want to work for them. For a small company, they have some great ideas that larger companies do not have.
Questions to help me succeed
How do you guys plan on expanding your company after the federal grant money is used up?
What keeps the two telephone companies on both sides of you from entering your area?
How important is the network administrator in your company?
ALLO Communications
Contact
https://www.allocommunications.com/
330 S 21st St, Lincoln, NE 68510
jsmangan@allocommunications.com Joshlyn Mangan, Director of Human Resources
General Information
ALLO Communications is an internet service provider that serves Lincoln, NE and its surrounding areas. ALLO provides fiber to the home services which include phone, television, and internet. ALLO has a goal to have fiber to the home fully implemented in Lincoln, NE in the next few years. ALLO employs 300-350 employees and 50 part time employees.
Interest in Employer
When I started researching ALLO Communications, I found quite a bit about what they do differently. ALLO is the first company to offer fiber optic services to residents of Lincoln, NE. I thought that was very interesting because Lincoln is a very large city. ALLO also has a specific way of approaching apartment complexes too. They use business grade calix routers to support apartment complexes. This helps with interference and crosstalk on the network. ALLO is also gig certified which means that any of their fiber customers can get 1gbps upload and download speed. Researching this company strengthened my interest because I did not know that they were gig certified. I would really be interested in working for ALLO.
Questions to help me succeed
Which towns are you planning on implementing fiber in next?
How do you price your packages compared to your competitors?
How many employees have been hired/fired in the last year?
Great Plains Communications
Contact
1635 Front St, Blair, NE 68008
cmixan@gpcom.com Caseina Mixan, Senior Human Resources Manager
General Information
Great Plains Communications is an internet service provider and fiber transport company that serves the midwest. GPC has fiber to the home capabilities in most of its territory in northeast Nebraska, and is expanding with the new federal grants. GPC also has many fiber transport links throughout the midwest that connect other internet service providers together. GPC employs 200-250 people and is located in Blair, NE.
Interest in Employer
I first found out about Great Plains Communications when we were implementing new fiber at my current job. I did not realize that we leased fiber from them until the network engineer explained it to me. I find it very interesting how GPC operates, because they started out as a rural telephone company and expanded to a managed service provider. They still provide the original telephone exchange and surrounding areas with fiber optic internet, but they also have thousands of miles of fiber throughout the midwest. The most interesting thing about the company that I have researched is their link between Denver and Chicago. The amount of traffic that flows between this link is unbelievable when it comes to data. My research for this company strengthened my research because I did not know that they provided fiber optic to their original exchange as well as transportation links.
Questions to help me succeed
Knowing that you cover a lot of area, how much of my time will be spent traveling?
What are your expectations from me if I were to be hired?
How do you keep the original exchange business and the transport business separate?
Sources
Fiber internet, TV, & phone. ALLO. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://www.allocommunications.com/.
Get a great deal on INTERNET, video, voice and business services from the technology experts – Nex-tech! Nex. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://www.nex-tech.com/.
NE internet, Phone, & cable tv provider. Great Plains Communications. (2021, July 29). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://gpcom.com/.
Ready to get started? WTC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://www.wtcks.com/.
I have worked with ISP (Internet Service Provider). The weirdest thing I had to do was cut down a tree to allow the ISP satellite to better connect to the house. Its a rather odd job but I find it rewarding in helping others.