Paul Bunyan Communications sets ambitious 1 Gig service plans for rural northern Minnesota

Minnesota-based rural telco Paul Bunyan Communications is putting 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) services into the hands of customers that traditionally had only access to slow Internet service options with the launch of its GigaZone network. 

Under its GigaZone service suite, the rural telco will offer eligible customers three main symmetrical speed tiers at competitive prices: 250 Mbps for $60 a month; 500 Mbps for $80 a month; and 1 Gbps for $100 a month.

Customers that subscribe to GigaZone Broadband have the option to add PBTV Fusion and/or low cost GigaZone voice service with unlimited long distance voice service. Paul Bunyan said that all current service options also will remain available to cooperative members within the GigaZone.

Its PBTV Fusion and Fusion Lite options, which include over 170 or 100 channels, including HDTV, are also competitively priced at $70 and $40 a month, respectively.

Leveraging Calix's GPON equipment, the service is now available in Bemidji. Paul Bunyan Communications plans to leverage its existing regional fiber network to extend the GigaZone services to its entire 5,000-square-mile service area. This network currently serves much of Beltrami County and portions of Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching and St. Louis County.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, who has championed the effort of rural broadband access at the national level since being elected, praised Paul Bunyan's efforts for making northern Minnesota a more attractive locale for residents and businesses to locate.

"The launch of one of the largest rural gigabit networks in the United States will be a game changer for northern Minnesota," Klobuchar said in a release. "Expanding broadband is a great equalizing force for boosting rural economies."

For more:
- see the release

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