Alianza Has New Plan in VoIP

It would be easy to dismiss the idea that the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative is becoming a major new force in fiber-based broadband, let alone voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service, but don't scoff too soon.  A new report suggests that Alianza was recently tapped by several electrical co-ops—including the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative—to bring its Cloud Voice Platform to their operations.

The reports noted that the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative's NEXT program, as well as OzarksGo, Co-Mo Connect, and the Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative all stepped in to take up Alianza's Cloud Voice Platform. With these various co-ops offering broadband services to over 120,000 homes and businesses—after all the necessary construction is complete, of course—the end result is a clear need for VoIP service to go along with the newly-minted bandwidth.

Interestingly, Alianza seems to have been preparing for just such an event; it's put plenty of investment into fiber VoIP solutions in recent months, and now that several electrical co-ops are building out with fiber investments, the end result may be a product perfectly built to satisfy demand.

Electrical co-ops have been leading the charge in fiber development, at a time when even Google itself couldn't stick around for long in the market. Of course, electrical co-ops likely have a few extra features that Google couldn't muster, like a ready-built infrastructure that would require essentially one extra cable be laid over poles that are already in place.

This is likely a good move for both the co-ops and Alianza, who get to offer all the services up at once to a largely captive market who's likely interested in such systems.  However, as appropriately synergistic as this move is, there's one looming problem on the horizon: 5G. Often described as “fiber without the fiber,” it's entirely possible that this service will render the investment of electrical co-ops largely wasted as it delivers the same kind of capability. However, since 5G is still about three years off, it could be that the co-ops are establishing a market now, and limiting the impact of 5G on the strength of sheer inertia. Why leave for fiber without the fiber when fiber with the fiber does the job just fine?

Still, in the short term, this move will likely be a welcome one. It's good news coming for the users, who will get access to a level of broadband connectivity they likely hadn't thought possible. Throw in Alianza's VoIP service, and it only gets better.

Edited by Maurice Nagle