Ziply Fiber is bringing high-speed internet to Billings and Great Falls. The company has been installing routers across Billings since June 17. Over 19,000 Billings residents have already switched to Ziply.
More than 2,500 routers will be ready for service next week. Ryan Luckin, Ziply’s vice president of marketing, says the company started planning months ago. They met with the city to discuss permits and pole attachments.
Then they began construction work, putting the network on telephone poles and into the ground. Ziply’s service starts at $20 per month. It offers discounted prices for low-income or tribal households.
The company uses symmetrical speed technology, which ensures download speeds are the same as upload speeds. “That’s a game-changer with fiber,” Luckin says. Some Billings residents welcome the change.
Madison Sostrom says, “I feel like it’s bad when one company takes over the whole market. It’ll be nice to have options and have other prices to look at.” Jodi Breakenridge adds, “It would be great to have more choices. It would be nice to have an alternative.”
Ziply Fiber is also coming to Great Falls and other Montana cities.
The company started in May 2020 and has expanded to 130 new markets.
Ziply Fiber enters Montana market
They operate in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Construction in Great Falls will continue into the summer. By the end, Ziply will serve almost 10,000 addresses in the city with fiber. Luckin says the construction process involves some digging and getting fiber on poles.
It’s a short-term inconvenience for a long-term benefit. Ziply offers a 50 gig symmetrical fiber connection, the fastest speed tier in the country. Luckin says it’s a nod to the future, as they don’t know what bandwidth and capacity will be needed 30 years from now.
The network they’re putting in today can expand to meet future needs. Ziply Fiber is one of two high-speed options recently introduced to Montana, along with TDS in Great Falls. The company is aggressively expanding in the state, with installations underway in Billings and set to begin soon in Great Falls.
They plan to launch in Missoula, Helena, and Butte in the coming months, serving an additional 26,000 addresses. Residential customers can access internet speeds from 100 Mbps to 50 Gig. Ziply’s plans have no contracts or data caps.
CEO Harold Zeitz says expansion in Montana has been a long time coming and he’s thankful the day has finally arrived. Many people and business owners have reached out asking when Ziply is coming and sharing stories about their limited options. For more information and updates on Ziply Fiber’s expansions and services, visit their official website.
