Midcontinent Communications has chosen the Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo, ND, markets to be the first to receive its residential and business gigabit Internet services. The company plans to deliver 1 Gbps speeds to its entire footprint by the end of 2017.
"We chose the Fargo metro area as the first area for Midco Gig because of the state-of-the-art technology we've been installing in the metro area during our Fargo build-out that started in 2014 and will continue through 2016," said Pat McAdaragh, president and CEO of Midcontinent.
An exact gigabit launch date for Fargo has yet to be determined. The company must first deploy DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems, which are expected to become available in the marketplace in early 2016.
"We've been collaborating with our partner Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) on the new modems and will have a modem in our Midcontinent lab this fall so we can perform testing on our network," said Jon Pederson, VP of technology at Midcontinent.
To deliver increased Internet speeds, Midco is also transitioning cable TV signals to all-digital format. West Fargo and Moorhead will make the full cable TV transition on Nov. 11. A transition is not needed for customers in the city of Fargo.
When Midcontinent announced the gigabit project in late 2014, it stated that its Fargo, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Bismarck and Grand Forks markets would be among the first areas to receive gigabit Internet. Timelines for those communities will be announced at a later date.