BrightRidge announces aggressively priced fiber-optic Broadband services with a nation-leading 10Gb Internet product

BrightRidge’s Board of Directors approved aggressive pricing on Friday for its new broadband fiber services, offering pricing and performance eclipsing existing marketplace products with a 10Gb/10Gb symmetrical product available to fiber customers. 

BrightRidge Broadband’s Fiber Advantage product will offer a 200Mb/200Mb symmetrical residential product, both download and upload, at $49.99 monthly. In comparison, incumbent providers typically offer lesser asymmetrical products at higher prices.

The deployment of symmetrical Internet services provides the customer an enhanced experience with much faster upload of videos, photos, data backups, large file transfers, and increased options for remote telecommuting.

“We are pleased to offer superior data rates at below market prices with no data caps, all backed by local customer service and support,” BrightRidge Chief Broadband Officer Stacy Evans said at the meeting. “The presence of new BrightRidge Broadband products will be a market disruptor in the region and will result in lower costs for all broadband customers within the BrightRidge service area.”

Residential customers also have the option of purchasing BrightRidge’s Performance Internet product at $79.99 monthly, which is a symmetrical 1Gb/1Gb product. The closest advertised competitor product is a 2Gb/25Mb product offered at more than twice the BrightRidge price.  

BrightRidge Broadband’s headline service, Broadband Elite, offers bandwidth of 10Gb/10Gb symmetrical. No similar service is offered in the marketplace, and the service makes the region one of only a handful of communities nationwide with 10Gb service available to residential customers.  

At $299.99 monthly, the 10Gb Broadband Elite service is designed for the most data intensive users. Only one competitor even offers Gigabit speeds in a limited section of the community and at a much less competitive price.
BrightRidge CEO Jeff Dykes noted that the 2019 roll-out of fiber Broadband products will pass 3,847 homes and 373 business in the first phase in Johnson City, with year one deployment bounded in the north by the intersection of North Roan Street and Interstate 26. The western most deployment in year one is bounded by North Roan Street/John Exum Parkway, by I-26 in the east and University Parkway in the south.

In addition, BrightRidge Broadband fiber is being deployed in Jonesborough, offering service to about 105 residential customers and 50 businesses in year one.  Broadband fiber is also being extended to the nine industrial/business parks located within the BrightRidge service area.

“Providing the highest quality products at the lowest possible price is what BrightRidge is all about,” Dykes said. “These products greatly enhance the economic competitiveness of our community for residents, businesses and telecommuters alike, while saving our customers significantly on price.”

At the same time, wireless broadband is being offered in more rural areas using fixed LTE-type technology. Four first-phase towers are sited in Fall Branch, Buffalo Ridge in Gray, Piney Knob south of Telford, and Persimmon Ridge near Jonesborough. 

BrightRidge Broadband anticipates connecting the first fiber customers in April, Evans said. 

BrightRidge will also be offering an $18.99 monthly voice over internet phone service to fiber customers as well as a $14.99 monthly managed Wifi & Streaming Video support package.

In coming months as licensing is approved, BrightRidge will also be rolling out a streaming video product to fiber customers.

For more information on BrightRidge Broadband services, please visit BrightRidge.com or phone 423952-5000 and select the Broadband option on the automated attendant.

In all, BrightRidge has engineered an 8-year, $64 million investment to bring competition to the regional broadband, cable television and phone service marketplace which includes Johnson City, Jonesborough, Washington County, Colonial Heights, Piney Flats, and western Carter County.

BrightRidge is a non-profit political subdivision of the State of Tennessee serving 78,000 customers in the region, including residents of Washington, Sullivan, Carter and Greene counties. BrightRidge is the 10th largest public power provider in the TVA System.