Winthrop, MN – RS Fiber Cooperative (RS Fiber) begin the final stage of its state-of-the-art fiber-optic network next month.
Plans to begin construction to link the cities of Brownton, Buffalo Lake, Fairfax, and Stewart to the RS Fiber network is scheduled to start by the end of June. Those cities will join six others (Gaylord, Gibbon, Green Isle, Lafayette, New Auburn, and Winthrop) who have been connected to the network since the project began in June 2015.
To date, RS Fiber is serving more than 1,100 customers. Customers connected directly to the fiber network are receiving TV, telephone, and Internet services with speeds up to 1 Gbps. Some customers receive services through RS Air which delivers wireless broadband Internet to homes and farms in more than 17 townships over a network of 13 towers. RS Fiber general manager Toby Brummer is expecting to have over 2,000 customers connected to the network and enjoying super-fast gigabit speeds by the end of the year.
“As construction of the network continues, we expect our customer numbers to continue to grow,” said Brummer. “Once we have the final four towns connected to the network, construction can begin on Phase Two of the project which will involve bringing gigabit fiber service to the township members of the RS Fiber Cooperative.”
This new growth for RS Fiber will generate more jobs for the local economy. To date, the project has created ten new local jobs with offices in Winthrop and Gaylord. More jobs are expected to be added throughout the coming year as the network expands.
About us: RS Fiber Cooperative is a community driven effort to deliver a high-speed fiber-optic connection to Sibley County and portions of Renville, Nicollet, and McLeod Counties. The project will bring fiber-optic Internet, Video, and Phone services to ten cities and seventeen townships. The RS Fiber mission is: “To provide each and every customer with an exceptional service experience that you can only expect to receive from a local business, while providing you with access to the benefits of the most advanced fiber optic network in the US”.
