Silver Star Communications is calling it the “Gigabiz Community,” and it’s a fitting title. On Monday, the telecommunications company announced that Tetonia, Driggs and Victor are now part of a network that will accommodate the fastest internet speeds in the world. The valley is now the 51st community in the world to be capable of delivering consistent speeds of 1 gigabit per second over fiber optic cable, and the first in Idaho.
“A full gigabit would allow you to download the entire Library of Congress in one minute and an HD movie in under 10 seconds,” Silver Star’s President and COO, Ron McCue told a group gathered in the company’s Driggs office. “That’s the kind of speed you can count on from gigabit.”
McCue said major regions like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley still don’t have networks with these speeds. It’s a move that he said would attract business to the valley and accommodate for future growth in online applications. With the highest speeds possible, users will have greater power to build out private networks, develop software, hold video conferences and easily transfer large files.
Businesses and private customers can now purchase the high-speed service, with businesses paying $499 per month for a three-year contract and residential customers paying $299. Shorter contracts are also available. McCue said the company had already delivered the new service to a couple of area businesses.
Silver Star is also leasing wifi devices capable of sending one gigabit of information a second up to 500 feet away. The device is capable of re-calibrate its wifi signal based on a user’s location.
The company has already invested over $20 million in the valley’s fiber optic infrastructure, including connections with Jackson Hole over Teton Pass.
“Everyone feeds off of improving business,” Silver Star’s chairman and CEO said. “Many times communities don’t have the [digital] infrastructure they need and people pass them by.”
Driggs Mayor Hyrum Johnson said the city was excited for the new announcement.
“We’re very pleased that you would do this for the community,” Mayor Hyrum Johnson told company leaders Monday.
This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on December 18, 2014.