Crews with Pelican Broadband are making steady progress on a major expansion project designed to give families and businesses in Red River Parish access to fast, reliable fiber internet service.

Work began June 1 in the Old Town/Ringgold area. Crews are scheduled to begin pushing fiber into the area near Springville/Highway 480 the week of August 3. Residents can check availability in their neighborhood and sign up for updates here.

Phase 1 of the project is expected to be completed in June 2027. Phase 2, which will bring fiber to Provencal and Hagewood, is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with work continuing through March 2028.

Fiber-optic lines transmit information using light, allowing them to carry large amounts of data quickly and reliably. That’s important in rural communities like Coushatta, where older internet services can struggle to keep up with today’s high-bandwidth technologies.

For local families and businesses, fiber means fewer frozen video calls and less buffering while streaming movies. It also opens the door to remote work, online classes, telehealth, better home security, more secure communications during emergencies and more.

Ginger Craig of Coushatta retired this spring after 36 years with Red River Parish Public Schools. Since fiber was installed at her home on the east side of town, she’s seen major improvements. Craig uses the better connection for telephone service, internet and security cameras. Streaming TV and video load almost instantly.

“Used to, you’d have to wait and wait and wait,” she said. “It’s much faster now.”

As a teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic, Craig said she saw how unreliable internet often frustrated students and educators. Video feeds froze, forcing participants to reconnect or start over. Many students in the district didn’t have a connection that was reliable enough for virtual classes, Craig said.

“Most of the kids around here didn’t have the service that was needed for virtual learning, because it’s very rural,” Craig said. “Most of them didn’t have internet in their homes, or internet that was fast enough. We had to do a lot of packets and send-home paperwork with them.”

Craig believes fiber expansion could improve education, healthcare access and daily life throughout the parish.

“It should have plenty of benefits,” she said. “In today’s world, you can’t get by without fast internet. Everybody does everything on their phones and laptops.”

For residents, fiber represents more than just smoother YouTube and Netflix. When completed, the project will make it easier for residents to learn, work, see doctors, launch businesses and connect with friends and family. That’s the kind of progress we can all get behind.

To learn more about fiber expansion or to sign up for email updates, visit: pelicanbroadband.com/gumbo2

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