RTC Broadband (a Highline Company) Expands Fiber Internet to Pueblo West
October 20, 2021
COLORADO CITY, Colo.-- Pueblo West Metropolitan District (PWMD), announces an agreement with RTC Broadband, a subsidiary of Highline, a nationwide Fiber-to-the-Home fiber Internet service provider.
Highline will start construction next month to bring lightning-fast Gigabit speeds to homes and businesses in the Pueblo West area!
“We have worked closely with Pueblo West for several years on how we can collaborate on broadband deployment,” commented Deb Rand, CEO of Highline South/West Region and RTC Broadband. “The COVID pandemic has further highlighted the disadvantages lack of real high-speed internet imposes. We are thrilled that we have found a way to assist in helping the residents and businesses of PWMD that have for so long have had to deal with inadequate and unreliable internet service.”
The Pueblo West Metropolitan District operates one of the leanest local governments in Colorado, yet still provides robust services to over 30,000 residents, businesses, and visitors. As a special district form of government, Pueblo West exists to provide services in an unincorporated portion of Pueblo County. Pueblo West was formed to perform local government functions outlined in the District's service plan. These services include covenant enforcement, fire protection, parks and recreation, public works, and water and wastewater utilities. Law enforcement, planning and zoning, and court services are provided by Pueblo County.
In addition, services such as the Health Department, Regional Building Department, and the Pueblo West Library are provided by partnerships between the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County. As PWMD continues to focus on the needs of the community and their residents, being able to offer real high-speed internet is a requirement they do not wish to ignore.
“One of the reasons that I wanted to be on the Pueblo West Metropolitan District team is that I bring a great deal of historic knowledge to the table regarding Pueblo West and want to be a part of moving this community forward in the future, and this partnership to bring fiber to the home in this district is vital,” stated Board President Doug Proal. “We are eager to get construction underway and involve the people of Pueblo West so that they know Gigabit Internet is coming.” Highline has been offering Fiber-to-the-home in Colorado since 1999 and is now able to offer even higher speeds than ever, all on a fiber network that is the most reliable in the internet service industry.
Over PWMD 13,000 homeowners and residents will be able to enjoy new economic opportunities, careers, education, entertainment, healthcare, and connection to friends and family with higher speeds and reliability of internet service in their homes. “Remote schooling, remote working, and telehealth are basic needs in today’s world,” added David Shipley, COO of Highline South/West Region and RTC Broadband. “We have been providing reliable fiber internet connectivity to areas of Pueblo County for over 20 years and are so excited to expand into Pueblo West and finally bring the benefits of the best technology supported by a local company and staff with a proven track record.” About Highline: Highline acquired Rye Telephone, RTC Broadband, and SPT Broadband of Colorado in August 2021, and the brand name that will continue is Highline.
At Highline, we believe everyone should have access to the most reliable, fastest internet speed available – at a fair price, regardless of where you live and work. Highline’s owner ITC has been in business for more than 125 years, and over the last 25 years, Highline has built, owned, and operated fiber networks that have thousands of subscribers. Highline currently serves the communication and internet needs of thousands of residents and businesses in Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. Our Colorado companies include RTC Broadband, based in Pueblo County, and SPT Broadband, based in Park County.
Highline is expanding its existing Colorado operations by working with communities to build out state-of-the-art Fiber-to-the-Premise, lightning-fast Gigabit networks. We are currently building a Fiber-to-the-Premise network to provide 1 Gigabit internet service to more than 55,000 homes and businesses in Michigan that are underserved by existing providers. In addition, Highline works closely with its partner and part-owner Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG) for the design, engineering, and construction of Highline’s Fiber-to-the-Premise networks. AEG has worked with municipalities, rural electric cooperatives, and internet service providers for over 25 years. AEG has built over 50,000 miles of fiber plant, passing almost 3 million homes, with over 130 FTTP projects completed across the country.
AEG is currently building a fiber network in partnership with the City of Ft. Collins, CO, and will use its Ft. Collins team to build out Pueblo. Construction of the Fiber Network has already begun and the expectation for Michigan residents is that Highline will pass over 1200 homes by the end of September and the growth is just beginning. Highline knows that these areas of the country are under-served and plan to help close the digital divide by investing in the capital to deploy Fiber which will create reliable, affordable, gigabit-speed Internet and Voice services. “By partnering with Calix on everything from cutting-edge fiber infrastructure to advanced subscriber-facing solutions, Highline Internet is well on its way to delivering the services that underserved and unhappily served Americans need”, said Matt Hayes, the CTO of Highline Internet in a prepared statement.
“Both residential homeowners and business can thrive by having reliable and lightning-fast Internet, and not having to settle for less”. “We are excited to bring real gigabit-speed Internet Services to our friends and neighbors in Michigan”, said Bruce Moore, the President and GM for Highline Michigan. Finally, homeowners will see that gigabit speeds will allow them to send or upload data from their computers or devices directly to the internet, without buffering, and share files, pictures, gaming, and homework. Working from home, learning from home, and sharing from home will have new meaning.”
Highline Internet is a subsidiary of ITC Broadband Holdings, which got its start in 1896 as Interstate Telephone Company and has interests in a number of industries including Highline, which provides state-of-the-art broadband that serves underserved communities with big-city services.