Fiber is the name of the game

March 30, 2022

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APRIL 2022 | 2 MIN READ

FIBER IS THE NAME OF THE GAME.

As GBT continues to provide the best Internet and Communication services to residents and businesses in our area, GBT is very excited to announce the expansion of Fiber services in 2022 to the communities of St. John and Larned, as well as bringing Fiber to the rural customers in the Garfield, Burdett, and Bison exchanges. The 2022 rural exchange Fiber builds will begin in Garfield this summer, followed by Burdett, and finishing in Bison.

Technicians are install cabinet on fiber optic cable.

St. John – Bringing an even BETTER user experience.

GBT has been providing communication services to the community of St. John since 2008. GBT General Manager Beau Rebel stated, “With the continued growth and support GBT has seen in the community and the need for even faster Internet services than what we provide today, it was an easy decision to invest and upgrade our current infrastructure to a fully Fiber network within the entire city limits of St. John. We hope the community is excited to have access to Fiber services and understands the positive economic impacts Fiber can have with this upgrade.” GBT plans to start converting St. John customers to Fiber in the Summer of 2022.

“It was an easy decision to invest and upgrade our current infrastructure to a fully Fiber network within the entire city limits of St. John. We hope the community is excited to have access to Fiber services and understands the positive economic impacts Fiber can have with this upgrade.”

Larned – Filling a Fiber need.

In Larned, GBT brought Fiber communication services to many of the businesses in 2018. The businesses that switched to GBT’s Fiber services have consistently voiced praise about GBT’s reliability, price, and the level of customer service they have received compared to what they had experienced from their previous communication provider. GBT General Manager commented, “As business customers have become familiar to GBT’s service, now the biggest question we get ‘is when can I get GBT service at my house?’ With GBT’s commitment to helping the Golden Belt area thrive and ensure residents and businesses have access to world-class communication services and not fall behind from a connectivity standpoint, it only makes sense that GBT expands our Fiber services to residents of Larned so they can enjoy what many of our GBT customers have become accustomed to in the last 10 to 15 years.” GBT will begin deploying Fiber in phases to the community of Larned, with 2 phases constructed in late Fall of 2022. If you live in Larned and want to keep up with progress or show your interest, visit our Larned Fiber webpage.

What is the big deal about Fiber?

In the technology world, Fiber is still king, and if you’re not expanding communication services by deploying Fiber, you’re most likely falling behind. Now some might ask about 5G, but what many don’t understand is 5G CAN’T WORK WITHOUT FIBER. Secondly, when GBT brings Fiber to a home or business, you are essentially getting 10G-like technology at your door! Fiber gives GBT’s customers a future-proof network that can provide the fastest speeds with the best reliability in the world!

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The Fiber Road Less Traveled – GBT’s 600-Mile Fiber Quest in Rural Kansas

Community, Internet

If you drove from Kansas City to Denver, it would take you almost 9 hours and a little over 600 miles to get there. Now what does this distance have to do with GBT? That’s the approximate amount of fiber optic cabling, 600 miles, that GBT is installing to homes and businesses in our Rural Part of Kansas, just in 2023! Fiber optics is hard to visualize because it’s just a small piece of glass the size of a human hair, but if we stay on the roads theme, GBT is essentially laying 600 miles of a 1,000-lane highway to 100s of rural residents so they have the same access to broadband and the world that many of us take for granted. As one resident who was recently connected to fiber Internet services conveyed to GBT, “For the first time since we have lived in the country, we now know what it’s like to have Internet that we can do anything we want with. We can watch streaming shows on our tv, my kids can do homework on their tablets, and my husband and I can browse or search the Internet all at the same time. It is amazing!” “For the first time since we have lived in the country, we now know what it’s like to have Internet that we can do anything we want with. We can watch streaming shows on our TV, my kids can do homework on their tablets, and my husband and I can browse or search the Internet all at the same time. It is amazing!” With 600 miles of fiber being buried in the ground, and hundreds of homes that need to be connected, planning, timing, and implementation is key. GBT understands everyone is excited and wants to be first to get fiber, and it is our goal to get fiber deployed as quickly as possible, but not at the expense of quality, safety, or reliability. When deploying fiber, many just see the final part of the process when GBT technicians install the fiber service inside the home, but few realize that staking, right-of-way permits, ordering and receiving of materials, main-line and drop-to-the-home construction, installation of central office electronics,...

2023 Annual Meeting Recap

Community, Cooperative, Press Releases

GBT held its 70th Annual Meeting Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at the GBT Headquarters in Rush Center. A drive-thru meeting was conducted, with 124 Members receiving an Annual Meeting booklet of 2022 Reports, along with a ballot. Board member elections were held for District 2 – Ellis, McCracken and District 4 – Alexander, Bazine, Rush Center. Election Results: District 2 – Philip Martin; District 4 – Gene Knieling. All members attending were provided a BBQ meal and door prizes. Congratulations to the following winners of the Special Drawing Prizes: Retirement of $250 Capital Credit – Paul Jost, Rush Center Retirement of $250 Capital Credit – Daryl North, Ellis 1 Month Free Internet – Lavern Schneider, Albert 1 Month Free Internet – Terry Seltmann, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit – Joey Bevitt, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit – Clarence Foos, Bazine $70 GBT Bill Credit –Harry & Helen Thorne, Rozel $70 GBT Bill Credit –Corey & Cari Torrez, Rush Center $70 GBT Bill Credit –Brandi Seltmann, Bazine $70 GBT Bill Credit –Hoop & Twila Higgins, McCracken $70 GBT Bill Credit – Don Hanhardt, Albert $70 GBT Bill Credit – Fred Flax, Ransom $70 GBT Bill Credit – Cynthya Billinger, Lewis $70 GBT Bill Credit – Linda Bahr, Otis

GBT Annual Meeting 2023 – Letter from the General Manager

Community, Cooperative

I am grateful to have this yearly opportunity to connect with our members and share cooperative happenings. It allows GBT representatives to visit and provide members with our successes, challenges, finances, and plans for the future. For 70 years, all our member-owners have trusted us to connect you to the world. Although we call this an annual meeting, it is really a celebration for you, our member-owners. This year embarks a special celebration as the cooperative not only celebrates its 70th year in business, but also anticipates crossing the finish line on connecting every member with FIBER!!! The Cooperative covers over 3,200 square miles with 1.6 members per mile, so this mark comes with a lot of pride from the GBT team. This kind of accomplishment doesn’t happen without a vision that has covered many decades of sound leadership, planning, and commitment from past and present Board members and employees. Over the last couple decades, that vision includes investing in fiber; GBT believes a fiber investment is one that keeps the future in mind. A fiber network transforms rural areas by strengthening commerce, advancing education, enabling precision agriculture, and improving healthcare. The GBT Board gave the direction to begin plowing fiber to its members in 2007, and now in 2023, we are 97% complete! GBT has invested over $46 million dollars in fiber to the home builds since the Board directed back in ‘07. In 2022, the rural areas of Garfield and nearly all the Bison exchange were completed, along with the City of St. John. It is our objective to build the rural areas of Burdett, Otis, Utica, and Beeler this year, along with the cities of Larned, Macksville, and Stafford. We can be grateful that our financial position comes at a time when we are on the cusp of a capital expenditure program of more than $15 million in fiber deployment. The cooperative feels very strongly about ensuring our members have a reliable and quality broadband...

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