TDS Telecommunications has been granted a municipal franchise by Billings, MT to build a 500-mile 2 Gbps FTTH network that will be available to more than 40,000 homes and businesses.
Construction will begin next month on the network, which will offer TDS’s all-digital TDS TV+ and phone services. TDS now is active in 32 states.
According to the BroadbandNow website, TDS will face CenturyLink and Charter in Billings, both of whom offer gigabit service.
“We see a lot of potential in Billings and we are thrilled to continue expanding our fiber network,” TDS president and CEO Jim Butman said in a press release about the TDS 2 Gbps network. “With TDS Fiber, residents of Billings can ready their home for the future. We’re proud to install fiber-optic telecom lines in the great city of Billings.”
The company has been busy. In the middle of July, TDS and the city of Socorro NM agreed to construction of a 1 Gbps network. The new network will increase TDS’s footprint in the city by about 5,300 addresses.
In the latter part of June, TDS said that it would bring a 1 Gbps network to 68,000 addresses in Spokane County (22,000 addresses) and Spokane Valley in Washington (46,000 addresses).
The Spokane County network offers all-digital TV service, TDS TV+ and phone options. It launched in six neighborhoods in April. The 1,100 mile FTTH network eventually will connect more than 88,000 homes and businesses. The company says that construction began in 2020. Services will be added in phases.
Also in June, TDS completed a network expansion in New Glarus, WI. The construction, which began last year, added 1,000 residential and business addresses.
