Bringing Abundance to the Hard-to-Reach: Why This Fiber Project Matters

Change is a funny thing. It excites some and unsettles others, even when we know it’s necessary. That’s human nature—our brains are wired to fear loss more than they value gain. When change knocks, many of us instinctively brace ourselves for more work, more energy, and more risk. It’s survival instinct: conserve now in case we have to hunt for food or run from a bear later.

In our rural communities, we’re used to making do. We’ve learned to thrive with less, to adapt, to persist. But just because we can do more with less doesn’t mean we should always have to. Kanokla’s newest fiber optic project is here to say:

it’s time for more.

More opportunity. More security. More connection. More abundance.

It’s easy to stay status quo—to believe the myths of “don’t rock the boat,” “if it ain’t broke,” and “small is safe.” But those ideas often come from a scarcity mindset. One that says there’s only so much to go around, so we must stay grateful, stay dependent, stay small. That mindset assumes someone must lose for someone else to gain.

But at Kanokla, we believe in a different story. Abundance is real. And the pie can grow.

This new world-class fiber network isn’t just about technology. It’s about the freedom to live and work wherever you choose, to access education and healthcare, to run your farm or your business with efficiency and confidence, to raise your children where your roots run deep. It’s about building the backbone for the next generation of rural life.

In our Osage County region, our fiber optic project has been five years in the making. That’s five years of persistence, advocacy, partnership, and planning. It’s funded in part by ReConnect 1 through the USDA—a federal government program that we’ve worked with for 73 years in leveraging smart tools to build lasting solutions. As a cooperative, that’s what we do: we build what others won’t.

Our job is not just to run fiber; it’s to build intense trust. Our cooperative model means we are owned by you, our members, and work with you through your board representatives. We know the importance of doing things right the first time. That’s why our resilient fiber is placed underground—to withstand the storms and seasons of our open plains.

Above all, this project is not just for today—it’s for our grandchildren.

Who are we to predict the limits of what’s possible in our small, resilient communities? We can predict this: the future belongs to those who are connected. And we intend to ensure that future is fully accessible—here, at home.

To the dreamers, the doers, the developers—the people who love this land and the lives they build on it—this project is for you.

We are proud to deliver a broadband solution that doesn’t make you share or compromise. With Kanokla fiber, every home, business, farm, and ranch will receive dedicated, abundant bandwidth that never has to rob from a neighbor.

Let’s move forward together. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters.

We will select our construction contractor on June 11th with plow-in-the ground in July to build 200 miles of middle mile network and fiber-to-the-premise connectivity. Together, we will celebrate the kickoff, the progress milestones, the first customer “cutover” (which means we’ll put them live on our existing network), and the last customer connected. All of it - every step - deserves a celebration! For years in our Osage County member communities, we have worked within disconnected networks, yet we continuously and proactively invested in electronics, better redundancy, a fixed wireless bandaid, and we’re excited for the “night and day” effect customers experience when they connect to our network.

Kanokla believes in rural. We believe in you. And we believe the best is yet to come.