7 connectivity companies to connect their services

Owatonna-based Jaguar Communications has partnered with five telephone companies in southern Minnesota, one in Iowa and Sioux Falls, S.D.-based SDN Communications to form a regional network.

“This partnership makes Jaguar Communications part of something bigger which will pay dividends in network solutions and efficiencies for business customers,” said Jaguar Communications CEO John Jensen.

Over the summer, Jaguar moved its Albert Lea location from Marshall Street to the corner of Newton Avenue and Clark Street.

The new network includes Blue Earth-based Bevcomm.

“The bigger the network, the more value to the end user,” said Bevcomm CEO Bill Eckles.

Businesses and institutions that need secure connections without using the general Internet are examples of what the communications companies service, Eckles said. That can be banks, hospitals and even wireless providers linking cellphone towers.

The new territory will stretch from Goodhue to the Twin Cities suburbs to Mankato and Rochester and into Iowa. SDN serves all of South Dakota and has partnerships into neighboring states.

Other partners in the deal are Houston, Minn.-based AcenTek, Kanawha, Iowa-based Communications 1 Network, Kasson-based KMTelecom, New Ulm-based NU-Telecom and Ruthton-based Woodstock Telephone.

“The companies are all independent telephone companies, like our owner-members,” said SDN Communication CEO Mark Shlanta. “They have seen how our South Dakota members and business customers have benefited, and they want to follow that successful model in their service areas.”

The agreement will require some fiber construction to interconnect all the companies with SDN. Construction is slated to start immediately. Once complete, that connectivity will be sold by SDN and will benefit businesses with multiple office locations.

“Banks are a good example,” Jensen said. “They have a home office and branch locations in many communities and need to share electronic data among all locations. When they can do that on one provider’s network, such as SDN, it not only becomes more affordable but easier to manage.”

Large carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, similarly look for providers who can carry data traffic long distances on one, interconnected network, according to a Jaguar Communications press release.

Although SDN strictly serves businesses, it centralizes some residential products for its South Dakota owner companies, including long distance, cable television, Internet services and home surveillance technologies.

 

Communities served by Bevcomm:

Blue Earth

Bay City, Wis.

Bricelyn

Delavan

Easton

Exeland, Wis.

Freeborn

Frost

Granada

Guckeen

Hager City, Wis.

Huntley

Kiester

Minnesota Lake

Morristown

New Prague

Oronoco

Pine Island

Radisson, Wis.

Wells

Weyerhaeuser, Wis.

Winnebago

 

Communities served by Jaguar Communications:

Le Seuer

Adams

Albert Lea

Austin

Belle Plaine

Blooming Prairie

Byron

Cannon Falls

Carver

Chanhassen

Chaska

Claremont

Clarks Grove

Cologne

Dundas

Ellendale

Fairbault

Glenville

Hamburg

Hayfield

Hayward

Hope

Jordan

Kenyon

Lansing

Leroy

Lyle

Madison Lake

Mankato

Mapleview

Mayer

Medford

New Germany

New Market

Northfield

Norwood

Oakland

Owatonna

Randolph

Rochester

Rose Creek

St. Peter

Stewartville

Taopi

Victoria

Waconia

Waltham

Waseca

Watertown

Waterville

Young America