TDS Telecommunications announced today that it is enabling central Oregon customers to receive faster internet speeds — up to 1 Gbps — at no additional cost as soon as the faster speeds become available in Bend and the surrounding areas.
The faster speeds are expected to be available later this year. TDS will notify residential and business customers when their service has been upgraded. TDS said the faster speeds and free upgrades will enable customers to more easily perform remote tasks and use various video capabilities.
TDS also noted, in its announcement about the free upgrades, that it is celebrating its 10-year anniversary serving the region. The company started its central Oregon business after acquiring BendBroadband in 2014, spending more than $80 million to upgrade its network in the last decade.
“We’re thrilled that thousands of homes and businesses in the Bend area will soon have faster internet at their doorstep,” said TDS Chief Operating Officer Shane West. “We value our customers and recognize their digital needs continue to evolve. Central Oregon deserves fast, reliable internet and we’re pleased to provide these upgrades for free.”
The TDS free upgrades come after a similar offering by Windstream earlier this summer. Through its Project Glass Echo initiative, Windstream offered free upgrades of its Kinetic fiber broadband service to 33,000 customers currently served by slower speed DSL infrastructure. The company is calling the initiative “Project Glass Echo.”
Eligible DSL customers can get speeds of 300Mbps at no extra charge on their monthly bills, regardless of what speed they were previously receiving, said Ben Midanek, Windstream’s chief marketing officer for Kinetic, in answer to questions from Telecompetitor.
