Pre-orders open for fiber Internet in Sandpoint

By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff

The greater Sandpoint area is another step closer to a new high-speed fiber Internet network, and residents can help determine how quickly it gets here.

Officials announced Wednesday that Ting, an Internet infrastructure and service provider company, is eyeing an expansion into Sandpoint, Ponderay, Dover and Kootenai. With the expansion comes Ting’s “crazy-fast fiber Internet,” which offers speeds of up to a gigabit per second. According to Ting officials, those speeds will give local businesses the speed they need to stay competitive, while families can stream all the video, music and games they want without slow-down or buffering.

“We’re always happy to team up with towns and cities that get it,” Ting director of networks Adam Eisner said in a press release. “Gigabit fiber is the next generation of Internet access, and it will power the next generation of ideas.”

Ting is utilizing a pre-order system to determine demand and prioritize location installations. To bump your neighborhood higher up the list, visit ting.com/sandpoint and place a pre-order for your home or business. Network construction is planned for later this year, assuming sufficient demand exists.

Pre-orders require $9 down, which will be refunded if the project falls through. Installation costs are no more than $200 for a home or $400 for an individual business. Customers have the option to buy the Ting Internet Box for $199 or rent for $9 per month. Gigabit-speed service costs $89 a month for homes and $139 a month for businesses. Alternatively, customers can select a slower 5-megabit-per-second option for $19 per month.