Ting Internet taps Colorado utility’s fiber network to enter largest market yet

Ting Internet geared up to tackle its largest market yet, striking a deal with Colorado Springs Utilities to become the anchor tenant on a city-wide fiber network the electric, water and gas company plans to build.

The forthcoming fiber network will pass upwards of 200,000 addresses, with construction set to begin by Q3 of this year. Ting said it plans to hire a dedicated team to serve Colorado Springs customers and expects to begin providing service in the city in 2023.

"At Ting, we have several proven operational models that we use to deliver better, more reliable internet to the communities we operate in,” Ting Internet EVP Jill Szuchmacher said in a statement. “A tenant lease on Colorado Springs Utilities' network benefits all parties involved and provides our team with an excellent opportunity to scale our Colorado presence while focusing our resources on delivering a best-in-class service that delights our customers."

RELATED: Ting Internet enters Arizona market with Simply Bits acquisition

Ting Internet, which is owned by Tucows, began offering fiber services in 2015 and serves more than 10 cities across California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. It is not to be confused with Tucows’ Ting-branded wireless service. Tucows sold its Ting Mobile customers to Dish Network in August 2020, but kept its wireless technology stack and Ting Internet.

The company has recently been working to expand its Ting Internet footprint, striking a deal to acquire fiber and fixed wireless access provider Simply Bits in October 2021 to give it a foothold in the state of Arizona.

RELATED: Public-private partnerships poised to play pivotal part in fiber proliferation

Speaking with Fierce the same month, Tucows senior director of market development and strategic relationships Monica Webb highlighted the role of public-private partnerships in its deployments over the years. She noted it has leveraged such arrangements for rollouts in California, Colorado, Idaho and North Carolina.