Montana Internet Officer Explains Progress on Laying Fiber Optic Cable in Broadwater County
 | Author:
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Reporter
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Montana Internet Officer Explains Progress on Laying Fiber Optic Cable in Broadwater County
Nancy Marks
MT43 News Reporter
In the internet provider services world, Montana Internet of Helena is the Little Red Engine that could.
According to Josh Romandia, CEO of Montana Internet, his board made the decision early on to invest the money to lay optic fiber in East Helena and Broadwater County while other providers were waiting to receive grant money. This fall the company completed a 24-mle stretch on Highway 287 and in Townsend from Townsend Elementary School to Spokane Creek Road.
The company allocated $1 million to invest in the expansion.
In 2023 the federal government established the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, allocating $628 million to the Montana Communications Advisory Council to help internet service providers pay for broadband installation service in the state. Currently, the funds have barely been distributed.
“Although there was a huge amount of money available to broadband providers through the American Rescue Plan Act funds, the State of Montana delayed setting up committees to allocate those funds. “The process went on for weeks, months and now years. The large corporations lobbied for the funds and had the time and money to wait for the funds to be allocated before they began laying fiber. As a small business we did not have the funds or lobbying capability to compete against the large corporations, so the board decided to invest in laying our own fiber,” he said.
The company’s fiber optic service has yet to be hooked up to its Townsend-Spokane Creek Road service since workers must connect cables via high poles across the Missouri River bridge. Romandia indicated that work would be finished in 2025. The work is front and center for this year. “As we looked at the economic growth happening between East Helena, Winston and the Silos area, we saw ourselves as positioned to take advantage of that growth, even though we are a small provider,” he said.
The East Helena-Spokane Creek road portion of the fiber backbone is already built and “lit up," serving hundreds of customers, he said. Since 2020 the company began expanding its fiber backbone so that now more than half of key towers in Helena, Boulder and Great Falls are fiber-fed. In 2025, the company will connect five towers in Broadwater County to the fiber backbone.
As to when Broadwater County residents can expect to be hooked up to the new fiber optic service, Romandia explained: “While we haven’t announced which neighborhoods we’re building out first in Broadwater County, I can tell you our last mile phase which includes customer coordination and ’dropping’ our line from the street or road to homes and buildings will start at the end of Q2(June, 2025). We will target neighborhoods along the 287 corridor between Helena and Townsend.”
Romandia explained Montana Internet has 1,000 subscribers in Broadwater County currently hooked up to wireless service. Romandia admitted the service provider has had its problems with slow wireless service, but said employees had worked hard to fix problems quickly. Grateful for customer loyalty in the county, he pointed out so many customers have indicated they are willing to wait a little longer for fiber optic service “because they see value in what we’re trying to do.”
Montana Internet began as a dial-up service in 1994 by owner Chuck Siefert who was able to compete with huge service providers such as AOL and Earthlink because he knew how to listen to the customer. He built his business plan on keeping money in Montana, hiring mostly Montana workers and serving people in this area. “Customer service was and is the basic premise of our business,” he explained.
Romandia indicated the company works at being a good employer. The 30 Montana Internet employees include the people who spent hot summer days laying cable along Highway 287. “We are a close-knit group of employees who are cross-trained to do the work in all parts of our business. It’s a culture of choice for our team,” he said.
Romandia came to the company in 2014 when he and owner Siefert learned they had family connections who lived near each other in Placerville, California. He has a background in engineering as a tech director at Silicon Valley companies. He also worked for Google. Animated and passionate when he talks about Montana Internet’s present and future plans, he comes across as a leader.
Beginning February 1, Montana Internet will roll out its all-gig fiber service. Romandia urges anyone interested in fast internet to make sure their service address and neighborhood is on the list. by contacting Montana Internet at (406) 443-3347.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Photos provided by Montana Internet
Image 1 Caption: Montana Internet crews place poles over the Missouri River leading into Townsend which will connect fiber cable from Townsend Elementary School to Spokane Creek Road.
Photo Provided by Montana Internet
Image 2 Caption: Montana Internet crews head to Townsend to begin the work of plowing fiber cable last Spring.
Photo Provided by Montana Internet
Image 3 Caption: Josh Aaron Romandia
Photo Provided by Montana Internet
