Idaho Falls Fiber is recognizing 1,000th customer

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Idaho Falls Fiber-optic network celebrated Tuesday morning to mark the milestone of their 1,000th customers.

High-speed at a low cost is key when choosing an internet plan.

That's exactly what the Stevenson's family got when they joined the Idaho Falls fiber network.

They soon came to learn their enrollment marked a major achievement for Idaho Falls.

"We're really excited about having the thousandth customer. It's a milestone," said Bear Prairie General manager of Idaho Falls Fiber and Idaho Falls Power. "We've started at the hundredth customer now with the thousandths customer. We're hoping you know in short order to be at our five-thousandths customer. So, we're really excited."

To celebrate the occasion Todd and his wife Gina Stevenson were invited to visit one of the sixteen fiber huts in town.

Inside, they plugged in a yellow cable that connected them into the network.

"Well, we certainly know where it originates. You know it's actually pretty cool. I mean it's neat to see the hut and be a part of that experience. So, it's kind of a different experience and a different connection," said Todd Stevenson thousandth customer.

Prairie says each home has its own fiber line that connects to a fiber hut.

"So it's where all individual fibers that run to each home all connect back into the hut. So our network is unique in the fact that we don't daisy chain the connections together," said Prairie.

Todd Stevenson says joining fiber was a no-brainer. He and his family counted down the days waiting for it to be available for when they could submit their application.

"So we've been waiting for fiber to show up. We often work from home. We have a 10-year-old that's working from home now doing online school. Getting the extra speed makes all the difference in the world," said Stevenson.

"It's very exciting to see how much support we have from the community," said Prairie. "Seeing how much interest there is in a fiber optic network and broadband. The community is really the cornerstone of this network."

Community owned and community connected was a big sale point for the Stevenson's.

"We've been trying to do business locally as much as possible. Just the fact that Idaho Falls power is right here, when we have issues they're real people that we're talking to that can come out to our home," said Stevenson.

To learn more about the Idaho Falls Fiber network visit here.