At their recent company holiday party, Surf Internet formally recognized and celebrated the City of La Porte becoming the company’s first multi-gig city in Indiana this past summer. It’s the latest milestone achieved through their close collaboration over the last decade. Surf merged with La Porte-based company CSI Net in 2014, has implemented fiber-optic internet throughout the area, and occupies a new downtown office, where its call center is located along with many of its people, equipment, and other resources.
“La Porte becoming Surf’s first multi-gig city is a significant achievement, and speaks to the close partnership that has grown over the years,” said Surf’s Director of Business Development and Community Relations Scott Franko. “We’re partners working hand-in-hand, and we’re both growing as a part of the investments made throughout the city. Fiber is a game changer on so many levels, allowing La Porte to make economic development decisions that weren't available before advanced high-speed internet.”
The adoption of fiber optics by a city or community is a proactive step towards future-proofing internet access and capacity for its residents. Fiber provides symmetrical speeds for all connected devices, ensuring no loss of speed or capacity, unlocking new possibilities for both households and businesses.
“We just talked to somebody recently who said, ‘You changed my life.’ They were able to change their career and take a job that's probably been on the table for a while because of Surf and the fiber coming into the home,” Franko said. “Fiber has a real-world impact. People can actually make a major life change that wasn't on the table before they had fiber in the home.”
Once the initial fiber network is implemented, expanding the network to become a two-gig or even multi-gig network is simple. Franko revealed that getting the fiber implemented in the first place is the key to further upgrades: this is what it means to future-proof a community through fiber.
“Those communities don't see construction. Those updates will just happen, and then the residents are notified,” Franko said. “As technology gets better and as options become better and affordable, we make it available for them. This is the beauty and simplicity of having the infrastructure already in place.”
Surf Internet is proud of its partnership with the City of La Porte, a place that embraces innovation, along with Surf Internet’s vision for the future. At Surf Internet’s Christmas party in 2023, company leaders showed their appreciation for the City of La Porte and Mayor Tom Dermody by presenting the mayor with a plaque.
“La Porte and Mayor Tom see the value of what we're doing, and that's why we honored Mayor Tom with a custom plaque at our Christmas party. It’s dimensionally carved and looks like a piece of art,” Franko said. “We want to honor his vision and his leadership. We are proud to be partners with the City of La Porte to see the big picture and the economic benefits of not just broadband, but to be as fast as possible.”
For more information about Surf Internet, visit surfinternet.com.