Fiber internet switchover happening soon

Range Telephone is reluctant to give a firm date for activation of its state-of-the-art fiber internet connections in Sundance. It's coming very soon, said Engineering Supervisor Shoots Veis, but he prefers not to risk disappointing customers considering the delays on the project so far.

"This is as close as we have ever been," Veis told the county commissioners on Wednesday, estimating that the process of cutting accounts over from the old copper lines to the fiber will begin in May.

Veis, the third person to take the helm, admitted that the project management has been "probably less than stellar". However, with the end now in sight, he believes internet speeds are poised to start jumping all across town.

The plan, he said, is to have "everyone hooked up to fiber hopefully by the end of the year". All Sundance residents will be served through the new fiber except a small number of outlying areas.

"We will continue to have places that still use copper in some of the more rural areas," he said.

Colleague Jason Wille explained what will be available to customers after the change.

The upgraded modem is "next generation" and will have a 5300 square foot coverage as well as integration options for such things as Alexa. It will come with a smart home app to help with configuration, Wille said; at certain broadband speeds and above, these options will be free to the customer.

All customers will receive the new standard of a 30mb download for one month after being switched over, he continued, as a “taste” of what Range is now able to offer. This will be free to customers, who will have the choice to downgrade once the month is up.

Russ Elliott of the Wyoming Broadband Advisory Committee commented that Crook County should take pride in Range as they are providing a level of service not offered yet anywhere else in the state. He expressed how impressed he was on hearing the presentation.

RT Communications representatives were also present at the meeting to provide an update on connectivity across the county. In Hulett, the copper connections have now been upgraded to be capable up to 100mb in some areas in town, with the lowest available speeds at 30mb.

In Moorcroft, most of the town has access to 100mb and, again, the lowest available speed is 30mb. All schools in the county now have access to fiber.

Range has invested $16.2 million in Crook County since 1994 in such areas as fiber transport and upgraded equipment, according to the presentation. The company plans to continue that investment into the future.