Surf Internet went live with high-speed fiber in the Northwest Indiana communities of Lake Village and Kouts on Dec. 14.
The new connections are part of the Elkhart-based company’s goal to serve rural communities across Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
“Northwest Indiana is a great success story,” said Gene Crusie, Surf Internet’s CEO, in a press release. “With so many small communities in the area, we were able to work hand-in-hand with local leadership to bring in grant money along with our own private funding.”
Nicole Rindfuss was the first customer in Lake Village to connect to Surf Internet’s fiber-optic network. Her home is among the first of about 1,000 addresses the company will connect this year. The company plans to expand service to another 2,000 homes in 2024.
“With incredibly fast speed, we don't have to worry about who is doing what,” Rindfuss said. “Surf Internet has helped destress our household!”
Residents will have up to 1 gig download speeds. The fiber infrastructure will allow Surf Internet to introduce multi-gig speeds in the future.
Surf Internet invested about $1 million of its own capital for the projects. They leveraged $600,000 of Next Level Connections grant funding to connect the area’s most difficult to reach addresses. The company aims to bring high-speed, reliable internet to homes and businesses in underserved, rural communities.
“Together, we’re helping those who would truly be unreachable without a significant capital outlay,” Crusie said.
Surf Internet is a fiber-optic internet company that serves more than 600 communities in the Great Lakes region. They have been in business for 24 years and have over 200 employees. Surf Internet has offices in Elkhart and La Porte, in addition to four offices in Michigan and Illinois.
