Telecommunications service provider Vision Net has acquired iConnect Montana, a provider of network connectivity and data center services in the state.
Bringing data center functionality closer to the edge — and thereby reducing latency — was an important element of the acquisition, according to a press release. This undoubtedly is an especially important asset in a rural state of wide open spaces such as Montana.
The companies – which had a working relationship before the acquisition – both have small Montana telecom cooperative roots. iConnect Montana was founded in 1999 by three telephone cooperatives. Vision Net was founded four years earlier by five telephone cooperatives.
The combined company will operate under the Vision Net name and brand. The selling price was not disclosed.
“The iConnect acquisition bolsters Vision Net’s suite of services, enabling us to deliver a more comprehensive, end-to-end customer experience,” Vision Net CEO Corey Jensen said in the press release. “Increasingly, firms seek data center solutions to reduce cost and latency and bolster security. Bringing iConnect’s data center services and its team of experts under the Vision Net banner positions us to fully address this growing need.”
Vision Net has in recent years mounted projects in Helena and Billings. It provides broadband network transport, Internet services, design and management of customized wide-area network (WAN) solutions, including SD-WAN, and end-point and network security.
Telecommunications in the Big Sky State also is getting a boost from TDS Telecommunications, which has made several announcements within the last year – including two in cities in which Vision Net is active.
During April, TDS said it will reach almost 20,000 addresses in Helena and 30,000 addresses in Great Falls. Last August, the company said it would reach more than 40,000 addresses in Billings.
