Over 5,000 homes will be connected as Surf Internet’s fiber-optic network continues to expand in St. Joseph County.
Surf Internet delivered service last year to 2,400 homes on the south side of South Bend. The project now will progress north to Clay Township. Over 2,700 additional homes are slated to have access to fiber-optic services by fall.
“As an Elkhart-based company, it’s particularly exciting to serve our neighboring county,” said Gene Crusie, Surf Internet CEO, in a press release. “While many areas of St. Joseph County are more populated, there are still underserved pockets where high-speed internet access or provider options are limited.”
Surf Internet’s infrastructure will provide a foundation capable of scaling to 10 Gbps in the future. These speeds are useful when using multiple devices for e-learning, video conferencing, working from home and entertainment.
“I love the consistency and fast speed,” said Kimberly Dutton, the first Surf Internet fiber-optic customer connected in South Bend.
Terry O’Brien, economic development planner for the St. Joseph County Department of Infrastructure, Planning & Growth, emphasized the significance of Surf Internet’s investment in the county.
“We recognize the transformational benefits that fiber broadband brings to the community and are thankful for Surf's ability to bring that infrastructure to homes in the county,” O’Brien said.
One of Surf Internet’s partners in the initiative is ChoiceLight, a South Bend-based fiber-optic infrastructure-as-a-service network. It extends over 500 miles throughout St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties. Surf Internet leverages ChoiceLight’s existing dark fiber infrastructure and unlit optical fiber cables to expand into unserved areas, eliminating the need to build new fiber paths. Surf Internet installs its own optical equipment at each end.
All active construction projects in St. Joseph County are scheduled for completion by this fall. An additional 8,000 St. Joseph County addresses are being added to Surf’s construction plans through 2026.
Surf Internet aims to build an advanced fiber-optic network serving rural communities across the Great Lakes region, including Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Surf Internet has offices in Elkhart and La Porte, along with sites in Illinois and Michigan.
Caption: Surf Internet and ChoiceLight representatives celebrate with the Wilder family, the first to connect to Surf's latest completed fiber-optic construction project in Clay Township, St. Joseph County. (Photo provided by Surf Internet)
