While it’s true that we’re new to some of our communities, we are not new to the fiber optics game. We’ve been building the majority of our fiber communities from scratch for a little while now. 15 years to be exact. That’s right; we’re celebrating a decade and a half of fast, reliable service that our friends and neighbors can truly count on across Nebraska and Colorado. Our VP of Operations, Allison’s reaction was pretty spot on when she said: “Has it really been 15 years? Second thought: Has it only been 15 years?” Though some days seem a bit longer than others, the years have been flying by at GIG speeds.
Now is an important time for our communities as they are working hard to improve their current infrastructure and welcome the future of technology. 15 years ago, our president, Brad, set out to build stronger connections and better options with ALLO phone service. Today, we’re connecting people with internet so fast we don’t even really know what the word “impossible” means anymore. Sure, teleportation may still be lingering in the realm of impossibility but as long as communities continue to build for the future, we’ll be here to support the infrastructure and celebrate the opportunities that grow from it.
As we sit in the driver’s seat with a focus on the future, we can’t help but look back and admire where we’ve been. Located right in our rearview mirror is our #1 spot for customer service in North Platte, a handful of Calix Innovation Awards, a seven-year winning streak in Scottsbluff and North Platte as the #1 internet provider, and the opportunity to help Lincoln become a Smart Gigabit Community.
We don’t have traditional offices at ALLO so we get to hear from the big boss (Brad) pretty frequently. Recently, we overheard him say, “What sets us apart from others is our products, our people, and the fact that we care more.” He’s absolutely right, we genuinely care about our customers, our employees, and we have a real commitment to the communities where we live and work. It all starts with us buckling up and paving new roads to more opportunities in our fiberhoods from the Solar Energy project in Scottsbluff to the Autonomous Shuttle in Lincoln. Growth is inevitable, but to be a foundation in that growth has been rewarding and if we’re being honest – this reflecting business is making it a little dusty in here.
This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the help of some of the hardest working and dedicated people on our team. We asked Nick Colton, #3 from the original ALLO crew, how he felt about our 15 year anniversary and his answer was simple, “Pride – I have a lot of pride knowing that I’ve had a hand in helping to build ALLO from three employees to the over 500 employees that we have today.” 525 seems like a big jump from the original three, but new people means new talents, ideas, and growth.
At 15 years, we’re just touching the surface and look forward to blazing the fiber optic trail across more communities and state lines in the future. We’ll end this 15-year reflection with another quote from Allison: “We have had every challenge you can think of, and we still never stopped moving forward. We will never stop. This business is constantly growing and changing to improve.” So please excuse us as we dust our shoulders off, and go back to doing what we do best– redefining the future.
