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Alo Fiber updates Joplin rollout; city to refresh Smart Joplin roadmap
Summary
Alo Fiber reported conduit and feeder progress and said rock and utility conflicts slowed some work but the project remains on track for end-of-year fiber pulls; consultants will update the city's 2019 Smart Joplin roadmap to reflect AI and evolving connectivity needs.
City staff and Alo Fiber gave the council a two-part update on the city's broadband rollout and a planned update to the Smart Joplin roadmap.
Brandon Warm, representing Alo Fiber, summarized network progress: the south transport conduit is 95% complete, the north transport conduit is installed and fiber has been pulled into the central office on 2nd Street, the Southwest feeder ring is about 63% complete and the Northeast feeder ring about 70% complete. Warm said crews have encountered rock and utility conflicts in certain corridors — particularly 32nd Street and 4th Street — which slowed some trenching but that plans are in place with MoDOT to manage complex crossings. He added that work to cross Shoal Creek and finish I-44 crossings are the next milestones before the city can begin wide resident service activations.
Warm explained the project's "pond" cabinet approach — each pond (service cluster) has a cabinet that serves a set number of rooftops and then connects to anchor institutions such as hospitals and schools; he reported anchor-institution conduit is substantially complete in the southern area and will be fed soon.
Separately, a consultant briefed the council on revising the Smart Joplin roadmap the city adopted in 2019. The update will reassess goals, stakeholder needs and technology drivers (including artificial intelligence) and will include stakeholder engagement and demographic surveying to identify feasible projects, risks, and metrics; staff will return with a proposed scope and timeline for the update.
Council members asked about sidewalk repairs after conduit work and whether the city bears restoration costs; Alo indicated the company tracks cuts and the city charges for restoration but staff will coordinate to ensure repairs are scheduled. Alo projected that, barring unforeseen obstacles, the city and Alo remain on track for the next major milestone later this year.
