cfx_september-2024 - 6

MSO OF THE YEAR
The Midco Foundation doled out some surprise grants to nonprofits last fall.
thumbs up vote of confidence that we're going
to go forth, " says McAdaragh. " I believe we'll
have a product in market the last quarter of '25
or first quarter of '26. Nobody's put a sheet in
front of me and a timeline that says we can do
it, but they've been charged to figure that out. "
As Midco upgrades its network, it is expanding
its footprint into new communities, such
as Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Jamestown,
North Dakota. " Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is our
epicenter, and we just kind of keep growing
out from there. If there are holes in our fivestate
region and we're already close, then it's
just natural. It's almost like a plant extension, "
McAdaragh says.
Midco treats these new construction projects
like it's working in its own front yard.
" Ideally, when we're done constructing, you
shouldn't know we were there. That's the
goal. We don't always get it right, but we do
most of the time, " says Dold. " We believe if you
have any issue, we're going to take care of you
quickly, and we're going to get it right the first
time. " The company works to make sure calls
are answered quickly by someone that resides
in the Midco footprint, and if a truck roll
is needed, Midco's goal is to have a tech there
within 24 hours with an impressive 15-minute
window of when you can expect them.
Midco's underpinning philosophy of anticipating
customers' needs extends to its
approach to WiFi. It's not enough to get great
speeds to the house if internet is not performing
well on wireless. Last year, it launched the
Midco Wi-Fi product initiative utilizing Plume
pod technology that lets customers manage
and control their in-home networks while
allowing Midco to leverage comprehensive
back-end support tools. Nearly 75% of new
customers are adding Midco Wi-Fi when they
sign up. It followed up in 3Q 2023 with the
launch of Midco Business Wi-Fi Pro tailored for
small- and medium-sized businesses. So far,
about 50% of new hybrid fiber coax internet
Midco's Fiber Forward project is set to increase the
size of its fiber network by 22,000 miles by 2030.
For the last three years, Midco has been
as
a
rated among the best-midsized companies
to work for in America by Forbes and was
selected as the West North Central USA's #1
Telecommunications Employer for the third time.
The Midco Arena in Sioux Falls opened to a
sell-out crowd of 3,183 on January 26 for Ferris
State's 5-2 win over Augustana University.
customers use a Wi-Fi Pro connection.
" We've really seen the benefit of pairing our
Mido Wi-Fi with our IPTV solution Midco TV. We
know that we can provide a great experience
across both if those two products are present
in the home or business, " says Dold.
So far, the company has converted over
40% of its QAM customers to IPTV, with a goal
of being all IPTV by the end of 2026. " We've got
our product team working on what the future
of video looks like for us. It's still unfolding for
everyone, " says McAdaragh. " But it definitely
seems like the broadband customers that are
also video customers churn less, and they
have good customer satisfaction on everything
except one thing-and that's price. "
That price factor is something the industry
is experimenting with. McAdaragh is among
those watching Comcast's newly introduced
$15/month StreamSaver, which includes Netflix
Standard with ads, Peacock Premium, and
Apple TV+ for broadband subs. Another $15
includes FAST channels as well as more than
40 linear channels, such as Hallmark, AMC and
TLC. For the record, Midco is a 50-50 partnership
between Midcontinent Media and Comcast
with Midco acting as the managing
partner. Comcast does handle programming
negotiations, which is why Midco customers
lost Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sport
North for three months when Comcast's carriage
deal with Diamond Sports expired in May.
Midco operates its own sports network,
Midco Sports, which televises regional college
competitions. Some operators have gotten
6
September 2024
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