official press release of our being the first broadband customers.
NEWS RELEASE Contact: Dan Olsen,
General Manager
FIRST BROADBAND CUSTOMERS IN LAKEFIELD
Pastor Andrew and Lisa Schensted First Southwest
Minnesota Broadband Customers
Lakefield,
MN – Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) fiber-to-home project became
a reality on Thursday, December 7, 2011, with Pastor Andrew and Lisa Schensted
being connected to SMBS internet and cable TV services.
Pastor Andrew and Lisa are impressed. Andrew said
that their fiber-to-home connection provides, “obnoxiously fast internet.” The
Schensteds moved to Lakefield from the Twin Cities and Andrew said that their
SMBS internet is “at least ten times faster,” than what they had in the metropolitan
area. They have been streaming video in full HD from TV streaming websites. Lisa said that, “It’s just so great. I was
feeling under the weather and all of the different channels kept me
entertained!”
Dan
Olsen, Windomnet Operations Manager/SMBS General Manager said that work on the
fiber ring has been “fast and furious since ground breaking on July 22. We are
thankful that the Schensteds have agreed to be our trial customer. They have
been asked to use as much data as possible. SMBS is now analyzing the system to
see if any adjustments need to be made before additional customers are
connected.” Another small group of customers will be connected by the end of
December with community wide installation fully underway in January.
SMBS
is also working on a wireless trial that will launch in the Bingham Lake area
by the end of December. Olsen said, “The demand for higher speed internet in
our rural area is daunting. People not only want faster speeds, they need it
for their business operations.” If the
wireless trial is successful it could provide a better option to those not on
the fiber system.
About Southwest Minnesota Broadband
Services: Southwest
Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) is a consortium of 8 communities including
Bingham Lake, Brewster, Heron Lake, Jackson, Lakefield, Okabena, Round Lake and
Wilder. The 125-mile, $12.8 million
dollar fiber ring is expected to be completed in September 2012. The fiber-optic
communication network has the capacity to bring fast, competitively priced
services for internet, phone and cable TV to residential subscribers as well as
businesses and other community institutions. This government grant supported
project is intended to provide Southwest Minnesota with the telecommunication connectivity
required to remain competitive in the global marketplace. For more information
on Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services, visit their website at mysmbs.com
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