Surf Internet celebrated the first Knox customers to be connected to its internet in Wythougan Park on Wednesday, October 25 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. A reception was held shortly after in the Starke County Chamber of Commerce office with members of the city government, Starke County leaders, and some of the first Knox customers.
“We think it is phenomenal when you have the backing of the mayor, his team and the whole community,” said Scott Franko, director of business development for Surf Internet. “This is what a community coming together for something like this looks like.”
Work on this project started two years ago to bring Surf’s fiber internet to Starke County when a planning committee began talking about bringing broadband internet to the county. The county approved of the plan, so Surf Internet was able to obtain a grant to make Knox a broadband community. After a few meetings, the idea of bringing Surf Internet in sounded like a great deal for Knox and the county.
“This is one of the tools that will really drive growth going forward,” said Starke County Commissioner Mark Gourley. “As we've seen over the last three years, a high speed internet connection is essential to building a fully connected life and staying connected with your neighbors.”
Knox’s position in Starke County has made it a perfect starting nucleus for the project to grow and connect residents in the area. Knox Mayor Dennis Estok explained people all over town are already eagerly awaiting Surf to connect them with its internet.
“This is a good hub for them to start. We have the industries, hospitals, and the schools,” said Estok. “I think it's a really good start, and then hopefully we hope they further expand. Right now we get calls every day from somebody outside of Knox asking ‘when is Surf going to get to us?’”
Wednesday provided an opportunity to celebrate some of the first Surf fiber customers in Knox who were in attendance. One of the new customers, Rebecca Kopp, had started inquiring about the internet services after workers installed them outside her house. Her Surf 500 plan has allowed her to be more digitally connected and able to use online platforms such as Facebook.
“I saw that they were installing it in other parts of the community and then saw that they were doing it in front of my house,” said Kopp. “I called them and asked when they were going to put it in. They told me that they will call me when we can have it ready. They later called me, and I asked how much. They were able to save me a few dollars, so I had them install it.”
Affordability is one of the big bonuses of Surf Internet – the company tries to keep its services affordable and easy. There are no contracts or connection fees, and they also have a price lock for life. In the end, it amounts to better internet at a great rate which was a big draw for customers like Augie and Paige Gappa. They were able to get the faster one-gig fiber that has given them quicker internet and allowed for more electronic devices to be connected on their internet.
“We saw that this was going to become available through the media, and I became intrigued,” said Gappa. “I researched it a little bit, and we jumped on it as soon as we had the chance because of the pricing.“
It is no secret that having both affordable and high speed internet is important to Starke County’s economy. As large numbers of jobs are done remotely, it will allow people to work in more places thanks to Surf’s high speed internet.
“We want to do whatever we can do to provide the best service that will bring the people to live here and work here,” said Executive Director of Starke Economic Development Foundation Lisa Dan. “Back in the day, economic development was where the jobs were. Today's economic development is that people will live where they want to live. If you have good internet service available, you can live and work just about anywhere.”
With the fiber internet, Surf helps to prepare communities for the future by helping them grow now.
“In the end, it's all about being transformative in equalizing the playing field for everybody,” said Franko. “Today was all about Knox, Starke County, and the partnership that we have with them. We're excited to be here, excited to be part of the community.”
For more information about Surf Internet, please visit www.iwantfiber.today.
