TDS Telecommunications says that it has crossed the one million fiber passing threshold.
The company says they are not done. Six months ago, TDS raised its long-term fiber target to 1.8 million addresses. The company says its aim is for 95% of these to have speeds of 1 Gbps or more. TDS’ goal is to increase its passing to 150,000 more addresses this year.
TDS says that its internet offerings all provide symmetrical speeds. Residential customers can get services as fast as 8 Gbps. Qualifying customers can access TDS Connect, a low-cost product. Business customers can get service as fast as 10 Gbps.
TDS is active in 31 states and has ongoing expansion projects in almost 100 communities. The press release says that the funding for its fiber passing projects has been both private and via participation in the federal Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) program.
TDS says that the new fiber addresses are in “more than two dozen states” and that large projects are underway in the Pacific Northwest and Wisconsin, where TDS is headquartered.
The TDS press release says that internal construction capabilities are growing and that this year more than one-third of the new addresses have been constructed in this way.
“Our Internal Construction crews are currently operating in six of our most active expansion states, and they have been doing fantastic work,” TDS Telecom President and CEO Ken Dixon said in a press release about the passing milestone. “We have found it to be a cost-effective and high-quality way to rapidly add fiber locations in areas that need and want fiber connectivity.”
It is apparent that TDS is not gunning for numbers for numbers sake. Just this year, the company has sold systems in Oklahoma to Hilliary Communications in July, in Colorado to the Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Association in April, and in the mid-Atlantic coast to RiverStreet in March.
