Copyright Kalispell Inter Lake
Access to reliable high-speed internet is a challenge across Montana. Wide-open spaces and low population density can make it difficult for service providers striving to bring the latest fiber optic infrastructure to customers. Montana is one of the least covered states in the nation when it comes to fixed broadband coverage at 81.8%, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Compare this to neighboring North Dakota, which has one of the highest rates of coverage in the country at 99.59%. But Montana’s broadband companies are busy running fiber infrastructure to customers while also prioritizing good service and alternative solutions when needed, like satellite for those who live in the mountains and sheltered valleys. “These small broadband companies in Montana have taken the traditions they started with in the landline telephone industry and have retained that same commitment as they evolve their services into broadband,” said BroadbandMT General Manager Bridger Mahlum. “They continue to prioritize these very rural parts of Montana where they started with telephone, but now have primarily through fiber to the home.” BroadbandMT is an association of local broadband providers across the state that advocates for public policy, provides consultation, communications, training and education opportunities. The organization can trace its roots back to 1955 in Great Falls, when it was founded as the Montana Telephone Association. In 1998, the name was changed to the Montana Telecommunications Association. Changes over the years have reflected the waves of new technology that keep shaping the telecommunications industry. Mahlum said association members have the same rich history — many were founded a century ago as telephone companies. “They had certain obligations to be able to make sure these rural residents of Montana had a landline way to communicate with the rest of the state, with the rest of the country and ultimately with the rest of the world,” Mahlum said. “Many of them are cooperatives, so they’re owned by their members and self-governed by an elected board of directors.” It’s no surprise that these companies evolved with ever-changing technology over the years, using telephone lines to deliver dial-up, then DSL over telephone lines to bring internet to customers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Today, the focus is on fiber, which provides the most reliable way to achieve high speed internet. Fiber optic is a broadband internet connection that can offer download speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second, or gbps, according to industry analysis website BroadbandNow. DSL broadband has download speeds of up to 120 megabits per second, or mbps, and cable internet offers 10 mbps to 1 gbps, for comparison. One gbps is equivalent to 1,000 mbps. Running fiber lines can be very expensive, with local telecommunication leaders estimating the average cost to be around $20,000 per mile. There has been another recent influx of grant funds to encourage companies to take on more fiber projects in the past few years. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD Program, and the Digital Equity Act were both established in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Montana was awarded $628,973,798 through the BEAD program, according to the Montana Department of Administration. The ConnectMT Program was codified in Montana’s 67th legislative session by Gov. Greg Gianforte to award grants to internet service providers to improve broadband access across the state. In 2021, the Montana Legislature dedicated $270 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to the first round of grants. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES that serve rural communities in Northwest Montana continue to seek creative solutions to putting fiber optic infrastructure in the ground. Taking advantage of federal and state grant funding, Blackfoot Communications is one local company that has prioritized fiber infrastructure. Started by local ranchers and farmers in 1954 to get rid of party telephone lines and bring service to Western Montana, the telecom company is over 70 years old. Blackfoot Communications is a co-op but also includes a competitive and wholesale operation, according to Director of Community Engagement and Media Relations Kina Kuhn. Serving homes, businesses and carriers across Montana and Idaho, Kuhn said Blackfoot Communications takes advantage of grants and funding programs to increase broadband access and keep service affordable for customers. “We tried to take advantage of our investments and pair that with those grants to get fiber in areas that wouldn’t have necessarily been chosen previously. With all the different funding changes, we don’t pigeonhole ourselves into one solution. We try to be diverse and come up with different solutions that will meet different area’s needs,” Kuhn said. It can be very challenging with the region’s geography to get fiber in the ground in every community, Kuhn added. Beyond the rocky soil, there can be permitting issues, staffing issues and unseen costs from inflation and supply chain problems. Recently, Blackfoot Communications had to scale back one of its fiber projects, according to an August report from the Daily Montanan. Locations impacted appeared to be in Missoula and Lake counties, according to FCC documents. Kuhn said the company made the decision after looking at where they could “best meet customer’s needs to be impactful and effective.” “It just wasn’t possible to meet all those deadlines that were enforced and with the different delays and permitting and things. We just wanted to be upfront and make sure that we are following through on our commitments and updating that information,” she said. The company has also experienced workforce constraints, particularly with finding people who can splice fiber, which is a specialized field. Blackfoot Communications has continued to focus on completing fiber projects in metro areas, like in Missoula County, out toward the Wye just outside of Missoula, as well as locations in Darby and Potomac and Drummond. Fiber projects have been completed in Phillipsburg, Thompson Falls, Plains and Trout Creek. Blackfoot Communications is still focused on getting fiber to local schools, as well as health care and public safety institutions. “We want to complete those active fiber builds and upgrades. We’re trying to expand our fiber thoughtfully, focusing on the areas that we can best accommodate. Things elevate the customer experience like faster installs, proactive communication, and community and economic impact,” Kuhn said. Also serving part of the Mission Valley is AccessMontana, formerly Ronan Telephone. CEO Jay Preston’s parents bought the company in the 1960s, but he took over after returning with a Master of Business from Columbia University in New York. Under his stewardship, the company has grown investing in both wireless and fiber infrastructure. In the late 2000s, AccessMontana partnered with a consortium of local hospitals, known as the Health Information Exchange Montana, which had a goal of building a telecom network that created a “T” across the entire region: with Kalispell in the middle, stretching west to Libby, south to Ronan and Missoula, and east to Conrad. Utilizing funds from an Obama-era stimulus package the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, AccessMontana was awarded a $13 million grant to build out the broadband infrastructure. “We built from Pablo to Missoula and then west across the Flathead River and up to Elmo on the buffalo road, and then through the big draw down to Hot Springs. So that was a pretty significant partnership, and that basically forms the backbone network of our system today,” he said. Though some customers are in the Flathead Valley, Preston said the primary focus is the Mission Valley and the Flathead Reservation. The company is in the process of building out fiber in various places using grants awarded through ConnectMontana, which will allow for the completion of projects in Elmo, north of Polson on U.S. 93 in the Slope Hill area, and then the Turtle Lake area east of Polson. WHILE MANY telecommunications companies pursue grants to offset the high cost of running fiber, Montana Sky takes a different approach. The company has been serving the Flathead Valley for around 30 years, starting with offering dial-up internet in the mid-90s. Later, the company invested in DSL, then fixed wireless, which is a type of broadband that transmits data via radio waves between a tower and a home or business. “SkyConnect, that’s our brand name for fixed wireless, but essentially, we built up towers in a lot of rural areas to give people faster access,” said CEO Ryan Bowman. “But fiber optics is kind of our bread and butter now, so we’re investing a lot in running fiber optics all around the valley.” The company started investing in fixed wireless about eight years ago. Before other wireless or satellite options like Starlink were a possibility for rural customers, who were struggling to get better internet to their mountain homes. MontanaSky doesn’t apply for grants to build infrastructure projects, Bowman said. Even though fiber is expensive, it’s cheaper to put it on utility poles rather than dig into the ground. “Typically, we do all of our own investing with the cash that we generate from our customers. We reinvest back into our network to expand it and upgrade equipment and build fiber toward people,” Bowman said. While wireless coverage includes most of the Flathead Valley, MontanaSky has been selective in installing fiber, keeping it in densely populated areas. “We built all of Hungry Horse and Martin City, so that was really exciting — there’s fiber optic up there now. We did Columbia Falls last year, like all of the downtown area. We’re doing more there now, but we also have a project going on in downtown Bigfork right now too,” he said. MontanaSky’s customers are loyal, he added. He believes they appreciate being able to call someone local to report an outage or ask a question, rather than waiting on hold with a larger company. Echoing other telecom companies based in Northwest Montana, Bowman said customers enjoy that local connection and flexibility when it comes to taking on infrastructure projects. Kuhn of Blackfoot Communications said on top of being available, she believes regional companies offer a reliable product and long-lasting infrastructure. “We try to build future-reading networks, building things that can be scaled for decades. And we’re not a flash in the pan. We’re not throwing things in and then getting out of the area,” Kuhn said. Mahlum with the BroadbandMT said, despite being based in some of the most rural towns in the state, these companies are punching above their weight when it comes to impacting communities. “They are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into reliable fiber infrastructure. They’re part of the communities they serve and are always going to be at the top when it comes to customer service and ensuring that their networks are top class,” Mahlum said.
