CEO Message - May/June 2022

The Montana Legislature established the Connect MT program last year with federal stimulus funds. The intent of this program is to improve broadband internet across Montana. For Triangle we are continuing our plan of delivering fiber to the rest of our cooperative territory. Triangle does not plan on using any of the Connect MT program dollars to deliver fiber to the rest of our cooperative service area. Your cooperative has been running extremely efficient over the last six years and has developed and implemented plans to use our current cash flow to fund our internal projects, without grant dollars or borrowing funds to do so.

There are several areas outside of the Triangle cooperative area that are looking for a provider to come into their area and provide the excellent service that Triangle provides every day. Triangle Communications Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Triangle Telephone Cooperative Inc., is looking at areas around the state that may make sense for us to serve and possibly use the Connect MT program.

For our Triangle Cooperative projects this year, we are underway in the Moore, South Malta, another section of the town of Big Timber and the Whispering Pines areas. We thank our members in these areas for your patience and understanding during these important upgrades.

For those of you living in the areas mentioned above, during the upgrades you may see paint marks in your yard or fields. These locates are required by Montana State Law, so please understand we are complying with the law and ensuring that service is not interrupted as we proceed with our projects. As always, please remain safe and enjoy our spring; however long that may be.