BUHLER, Kan. — Buhler-based IdeaTek has expanded its footprint into Liberal, giving businesses and households access to gigabit speeds at affordable prices.
The expansion furthers the company’s mission of providing Internet Freedom to Kansas communities, said Daniel Friesen, IdeaTek’s Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer.
“We are extremely excited for the opportunities this much-needed fiber investment will bring to Liberal,” he said. “Our mission of Internet Freedom means we believe everyone should have access to high-speed fiber internet – no matter where they live. We look forward to providing residents and businesses with the world-class connectivity they deserve.”
Last year, IdeaTek deployed wireless internet to Liberal and surrounding area. It was developed as a temporary solution for remote areas. Friesen said that investment in fiber is a scalable solution for Kansas’ future growth. “Our mission is to build to the standards of the future, not today.”
With this rollout, IdeaTek offers unlimited, uncapped, symmetrical speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second. IdeaTek also does not require contracts.
Eli Svaty, the executive director of the Seward County Development Corporation, added that IdeaTek already has a proven track record in southwest Kansas, bringing fiber internet to residents in the nearby communities of Kismet, Plains. Meade, Minneola, Fowler, Ford and Bucklin.
“Rural Kansas has been historically left behind when it comes to fiber infrastructure development,” Svaty said. “These communities were suffering from a lack of committed and quality providers. As a homegrown company from Kansas, IdeaTek knows what it means to be a Kansan and why our people deserve the same high-speed internet as the rest of the country. Their mission of serving rural communities already sets an example.”
IdeaTek will have a meet and greet and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16 at the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, 4 Rock Island Road. The team will be available to answer questions about the construction build and about services.
The current project is just part of IdeaTek's growth into Seward County. In May, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced IdeaTek was one of 11 recipients awarded a Broadband Acceleration Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The award allowed IdeaTek to build fiber to 220 rural homes in eastern Seward County.
Based in Buhler, IdeaTek was founded by Daniel Friesen and four high school friends in 1999. Today, the company employs over 140 Kansans and is continuing to grow. The team is dedicated to the mission of connecting underserved communities with affordable high-speed internet.
To date, IdeaTek has deployed more than 4,000 miles of fiber — plus built more than 100 fixed wireless towers — serving customers in nearly 70 Kansas communities.
Residents and businesses interested in signing up for service can visit http://hookmeup.ideatek.com to enter their address and contact information. Or, they can call the IdeaTek sales team at 855-433-2835. To learn more about the construction process, visit ideatek.com/construction.
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