Star Communications CEO speaks at Rotary meeting

ELIZABETHTOWN — The Elizabethtown Rotary Club met on Wednesday for the usual business meeting.

The first part of the meeting was used to discuss Rotary business and make decisions for various issues while the second part was spent listening to the meeting’s guest speaker.

Donna Bullard, the new CEO of Star Communications, attended the meeting to discuss some of the things the company is working on bringing to Bladen County and its residents.

An exciting update is that more of Bladen County will now be within the area that Star Communications can serve.

Bullard also discussed the function of fiber-optics internet, which is what Star offers those in its network.

“The internet came on board, and we were super excited because we were one of the first DSL networks in the area,” Bullard said, explaining the excitement of advancing past screeching modems.

“And we all know that carried us for a while,” said Bullard, “but that was not the answer. The answer today is definitely fiber.”

Fiber-optics internet, often referred to simply as fiber, is a type of broadband connection that is capable of reaching speeds of up to 940 Megabits per second with minimal lag time. It uses a fiber-optic cable, which can send data almost as fast as the speed of light.

Bullard was asked about the comparison to wifi by the Rotarians, to which she answered that wifi simply is not as reliable as fiber.

“I would not be surprised if I saw or read on the news tomorrow that there was something greater than fiber that has come out,” Bullard explained. “That’s just the way technology is.”

But for now, says Bullard, fiber is definitely the way to go when serving rural America, which is the main goal of Star Communications.

Thanks to money from a grant, Star has been able to provide better service to current customers, and it also working on expanding, with Lisbon and Kelly exchanges coming in the next two years.

Currently, the southeast part of Bladen County is in the process of getting fiber, and Star has recently applied for a $24 million grant that will allow them to complete the service area by providing fiber to the northeast parts of Bladen County.

“Unfortunately, all we can say right now is that it is coming,” said Bullard. “We live in an instant gratification society, and I’m the same way.”

Bullard goes on to explain that she “has that technology background,” and when someone tells her that she can’t do something, she sits and thinks “yes, I can. There’s another way.”