blackfoot fiber upgrades

Bringing fiber-based connectivity to our communities.

A message from Jason Williams, CEO, Blackfoot Communications

Blackfoot is and always has been deeply committed to our Cooperative members and the communities we serve. Blackfoot only exists because of our members and we strive every day to provide each of you with exceptional customer experiences. That is why in 2017, we began an extensive, multi-year, multi-million-dollar project to replace the aging copper portions of our network with fiber optics.

Fiber-based services provide highly reliable, super-fast broadband speeds of 1 Gbps or more as well as voice and other advanced services. Blackfoot’s investment ensures that our Cooperative members will have access to the most state-of-the-art communications services for decades to come.

In late 2022, Blackfoot applied for and was awarded ConnectMT grants from the state of Montana to build fiber broadband in several of its cooperative areas. Blackfoot will use these grants together with its own capital to build fiber broadband to more locations than ever before. One way or another, Blackfoot plans to bring fiber-based broadband to all of its Cooperative members in the coming years.

Building a fiber network in your community is a major undertaking. Importantly, we will need to construct new fiber drops directly to each of your homes or businesses. This means we will need to enter your property to plow new fiber lines. Even if your copper-based service works fine today, Blackfoot's intent is to decommission and shut off our copper network as we build out the replacement fiber network. You can help by providing us with your consent today.

We know how disruptive plowing new fiber to your home or business can be, so we want to work with each individual property owner to minimize any disruption this may cause. After we plow the fiber drop, we will do our best to restore your property to its original condition, including planting new grass seed for lawns and otherwise leaving the landscape undisturbed as best we can.

To learn more about this project and to find out when fiber will be coming to your areas, please call us at 406-541-5000 or complete the consent form today.

We are thrilled to bring fiber-based services to your homes and businesses, and I thank you for continuing to place your trust in Blackfoot to provide your broadband and voice services.

A multi-year, multi-community project.

Please note: The estimated timeline below does not include previous network upgrades.

2021

Plains begins

Thompson Falls continues

Island Park (ID) continues

2022

Areas around Georgetown Lake and towards Anaconda begins

Plains continues

Island Park (ID) continues

2023

Plains (Phase 2) begins

Thompson Falls, St. Ignatius complete

Philipsburg Valley begins

Philipsburg Rock Creek begins

Island Park (ID) continues

2024

Alta planned

Darby planned

Drummond planned

Bitterroot planned

Island Park (ID) continues

2025

Potomac Valley planned

Potomac (Blackfoot River) planned

Our trusted partners.

Delivering fiber to rural communities poses unique challenges, including rugged terrain and spanned distances between connections. As we determine the best routes to serve your homes and businesses, Blackfoot has hired two engineering and construction firms to work alongside us in this process, Diversified Solutions and Mid-State Consultants. You may see these partners working in your communities.

Our fiber internet construction process.

FIber internet and you

Please note: In an effort to more efficiently connect you to our fiber network, we have crews working on many of these steps simultaneously.

All steps noted above must be complete before services can be connected to your location.

Browse our frequently asked questions.

Public notices.

 

December 22, 2021: As requested by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), we are providing notice that we are beginning to plan for portions of our copper-based network to be turned down. Depending on your location within the identified service territory, your service may be turned down earlier as the retirement dates provided are for the entire service territory. Please reference the Public Notices below for additional information.

Preorder fiber today

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Please note the timing of receiving services may be affected by factors such as construction and weather conditions. If you have questions, please contact our team at customerservice@blackfoot.com or 866-541-5000.