SIKESTON —Broadband services are expanding in Sikeston.

GoSEMO began working on a broadband services project in the Sikeston area after Labor Day, placing fiber equipment in the northwest area of Sikeston.

“Construction has started,” said Loyd Rice, manager of fiber services for GoSEMO during Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting. “We have about 15,000 feet, three miles already done. Right now contractors are working from Wakefield to Euclid toward Salcedo.”

Rice said work will be continuing on across Salcedo Road north, crossing the tracks in an effort to encompass the northwest end of town.

“Then we’re going to continue on east and look forward to being a bigger part of the community, even more so than we are,” Rice said.

The project will allow GoSEMO to run fiber straight into the home, connecting to the resident’s router as opposed to other means of connecting by cable used by other companies.

Fiber-optic technology uses small, flexible strands of glass to transmit the information as light. The strands are wrapped in a bundle and protected with layers of plastic, making fiber faster, clearer, and able to travel great distances. Fiber cables can also carry more data than a bundle of copper cables of the same diameter.

For traditional cable, data is transmitted via electricity. It uses coaxial cables to transmit data. Inside that coax cable is a copper core insulated with aluminum, a copper shield, and an outer plastic layer. Cable is more susceptible to weather events (like extreme cold, storms, etc.) and electromagnetic interference than fiber-optic because it uses electrical signals.

“That’s why it looks different and just works better,” Rice said. “There’s nothing faster than glass to light.”

Residents on the northwest end of town should be able to start being able to have service in November or December. Rice said they will be able to connect as they go along and won’t have to wait until the entire project is finished.

Once residents have the ability to connect, GoSEMO will begin advertising. Rice said the best way for residents who are interested in fiber to let them know is to register their address at GoSEMOfiber.com. When the service is available, they will contact the resident and start the hookup process.

Rice also said as they begin to offer their service to residents, other companies may offer incentives. But Rice added they will be a local service who have a stake in the community and an office in Sikeston.

“We’re local and you will be talking to me or someone in our office,” Rice said. “We’re in this for the long haul.”

Rice said while the northwest area of Sikeston will be the first to be available, they hope to continue more into other areas of Sikeston if the reception is good. The more people that sign up for the service in the northwest end of town will determine how they proceed connecting the rest of the community.

As part of the process, on Monday the Sikeston City Council approved an easement to GoSEMO to place some fiber equipment on the western portion of the power plant property near Highway BB. The proposed fiber equipment does not present any present or future BMU use of the land.

“BMU has been great to help with things like granting the easement,” Rice said.

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