News from the Knoff Group

High Speed Internet connectivity is on a lot of our client’s minds as they move from areas with higher internet speeds on average. We’re excited for more fiber options in the Bozeman and Greater Bozeman areas.

Yellowstone Fiber starts laying cable in west Bozeman
By Juliana Sukut Bozeman Daily Chronicle Staff Writer Apr 4, 2022

A project to install broadband fiber throughout Bozeman has begun with contractors installing fiber on the west side of town.The $65 million project from Yellowstone Fiber will bring broadband fiber throughout most of Bozeman and the surrounding area and will likely take about three years from start to finish, said the nonprofit’s CEO, Greg Metzger.

Yellowstone Fiber began installing the cables in the Loyal Gardens subdivision off of South Cottonwood Road about two weeks ago.Installation in that neighborhood is still underway, and one other crew is now installing cables in the Norton Ranch Subdivision on the other side of Huffine Lane. Metzger said he hopes that area will be finished by July.

The homes in the area could be connected to fiber broadband as soon as August, he said.The Loyal Gardens subdivision is the first of 15 areas in Bozeman that will have broadband fiber. Metzger said the second area should start in about two weeks.

In total, Metzger hopes to get about six areas of Bozeman finished by the summer with 12 to 16 crews working at a time. Each area has an average of 1,800 residences in it, he said.Teams will do aerial work, connecting fiber cables by existing telephone cables and laying cables underground.

It takes about eight hours to drill about one city block underground and then lay the fiber. The project is funded with $65 million in bonds that Gallatin County helped the nonprofit secure. No taxpayer money has been allocated to the project.

The former Bozeman Fiber was launched by the city commission in 2015. Yellowstone Fiber changed its name earlier this year, with the hopes of expanding beyond Bozeman.Since 2015, the nonprofit has worked closely with the city and county governments on the project.

Yellowstone Fiber is predicting Bozeman could see some of the fastest internet speeds in the nation. Metzger said the technology is about as “future proof” as possible.The first six internet service providers to provide services on the Yellowstone Fiber network will be Blackfoot Communications, Global Net, Hoplite Industries, Skynet, TCT (Tri-County Telephone Associates), and XMission, according to Yellowstone Fiber.“Right now, we’re state of the art,” Metzger said.

Source: Yellowstone Fiber starts laying cable in west Bozeman | Business | bozemandailychronicle.com