Fiber mainlines being installed in county

The company bringing broadband service to rural Moody County has started installing lines southeast of Flandreau.
Crews working for Valley FiberCom are burying the fiber mainlines in ditches, one of the first steps for connecting customers. The project, with work starting late last month, is part of a $9.59 million federal grant the company got through the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2019. In addition, Valley FiberCom is investing $3.2 million of its own money to complete the project in Moody, Brookings and Kingsbury counties.
The project is one of several grants, both state and federal, the company is using to provide service. In March, the company got a $1.5 million state grant to continue the buildout in the three counties. The company match is $750,000 for that state grant.
“In addition to the grant amounts, Valley FiberCom has a vested interest in these projects as well,” said Kaye VanderVorst, marketing and public relations director.
Valley FiberCom is asking for rural customers to sign up for service now, under the grant program, because there is no cost to the customers. Installation fees are waived with a two-year service agreement. Services can include high-speed internet, digital television and land-line phone service.

If residents sign up later, their cost likely would be between $14,000 and $21,000, once the grant work is completed, VanderVorst said.
“If they don’t sign up for service, it’s not going to get buried to their houses,” she said.
The project, which has about four steps to the process, is scheduled to be completed in the fall, weather permitting.
Signups can be done online at valleyfibercom.com, where a map shows specific areas that are eligible for service in Moody County.
Flandreau residents, at this time, are not eligible for the service, but the company will need to bury lines in parts of town in order to get from their office on Pipestone Avenue where the electronic equipment is based, out of town to the rural areas.
During the installation process, the company is asking that anyone with private utilities or drainage tile buried in ditches, contact them to avoid any accidental damage. The contact for the engineering company is Brandon with Vantage Point Solutions at 1-515-216-4232.
Public utilities are located as part of the construction process.
Valley Communications, which is doing business as Valley FiberCom, is a subsidiary of Valley Telecommunications Cooperative Association, located in Herreid.