MLGC, which has provided communications services to residents of North Dakota for more than a century, has launched a residential service of 5-Gbps downstream over its fiber to the home (FTTH) network. The service provider says the 5-Gbps offering, will improve video streaming and lower latency as well as enable smart home features.
MLGC offers high-speed broadband, television, and phone services to more than 2,500 homes in east-central North Dakota. The new 5-Gbps service is now being offered to subscribers in the towns of Kindred, Davenport, Amber Plains/Round Hill, Enderlin, Finley, and Cooperstown.
“We’re a fourth generation, family-owned company,” said MLGC President and General Manager Tyler Kild. “We’ve come from the telephone that was cranked, hanging on the wall, to the switchboard where you actually had people flipping switches, to laying fiber, and now 5-gig. We believe that it is our responsibility, especially in rural North Dakota, to bring that technology to our consumers.”
MLGC began its FTTH installations in the 1980s; in January 2011, it received an award via the Broadband Stimulus program that saw it install Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platforms (see “Calix E7 selected for two Broadband Stimulus projects in North Dakota”). In addition to the towns that will first receive the 5-Gbps offering, the company also serves customers in Binford, Glenfield, Jessie, McHenry, Sharon, and Sheldon. Its footprint runs west of Fargo. In addition to the new 5-Gbps service, the company also offers 2.5-Gbps downstream and symmetrical 1-Gbps as well as lower transmission rates.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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