The company has also launched a full-service NOC, Network Engineering and Technical Support Call Center in the same location to support its clients in broadband deployment and operations.
The company will occupy a 7,600 square-foot facility in downtown Kansas City. Conexon currently has 53 employees, and the new facility is expected to add 22 new jobs to the region.
“I am very excited to welcome Conexon to Missouri,” Missouri Governor Mike Parson said. “Expanding infrastructure is one of my top priorities as Governor, and that includes creating access to high-speed internet throughout the state. Making this crucial improvement will allow rural and urban regions to thrive together, and it will give every Missourian access to being a competitor on state, national, and global levels. Companies like Conexon allow us not only to compete, but to win.”
Randy Klindt, Conexon founder and partner, recently moved back to Kansas City to be closer to family and leverage the close proximity to many of Conexon’s clients, partners and vendors. He was the former General Manager of OzarksGo in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and spearheaded the launch of their fiber broadband project to serve 100% of its members.
Klindt implemented Conexon’s business plan process and helped secure more than $23 million in CAF II Auction to fund the project. OzarksGo is now on the path to sustainability and approaching 10,000 members connected. Klindt recognized it was now time to dedicate 100% of his time to Conexon and continue the mission to help more rural electric membership cooperatives build fiber in their communities.
“Our business is rural and Kansas City is in the heart of rural America,” Klindt said. “Kansas City has a friendly Midwest feel and a growing technology industry. That combined with family and key partners in the area made Kansas City the obvious choice for our headquarters.”
The headquarters will house departments including network design, construction management, network operations, support, sales and marketing. The new facility will also house its state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC), Network Engineering and Call Center support team.
Conexon will continue to have a presence in Washington, D.C. where Partner Jonathan Chambers spearheads the company’s regulatory, federal funding, Federal Communications (FCC) initiatives and other related activities.
Conexon’s founder led the construction of the first rural gigabit service in the country, which was also the first fiber to the home network constructed to connect 100% of the cooperatives members. They have assisted their cooperative clients, securing more than $200 million in federal and state grants. They continue to advocate for legislative changes to laws and funding criteria.
In 2018, Conexon led the first of its kind Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium bidding group consisting solely of electric cooperatives building fiber networks, in the Connect America Fund II Auction. The group was the largest and most successful bidding consortium in FCC history, securing more than $186 million in public funding for Gigabit-capable networks. Conexon helped bring $46 million of their total winnings for rural broadband to Missouri with their five-participating electric cooperative clients.
“We are thrilled that Conexon has chosen to land, and expand, in Missouri,” Subash Alias, Interim CEO of Missouri Partnership, said. “The new jobs they are bringing to the state are a testament to the hard-working and innovative talent that calls Missouri home. We are looking forward to Conexon’s continued growth and success in Missouri.”
About Conexon
Conexon is a team of professionals who have worked for electric cooperatives and the telecommunications industry with decades of individual experience in business planning, building, and designing networks, construction management, marketing and selling in the competitive telecommunications industry.
Conexon works with nearly 100 electric cooperatives in various planning and execution phases of their projects, more than 30 of which are constructing fiber networks in excess of 100,000 miles. Today, they are approaching 100,000 rural members of cooperatives connected to fiber networks.
Conexon was also selected as one of only eight companies added to Broadband Communities Top 100 fiber-to-the-home companies in 2018.