All West seeks to improve internet speed

All West Communications plans to bring high-speed internet access to businesses and residents in Sweetwater County.

During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting last week, the commissioners received an update on the acquisition of Sweetwater Television.

“We’re excited to be here,” said Jack Walkenhorst, All West Communications director of strategic partnerships. “This culminates a year and a half of meetings with the Carrolo family.”

The final papers were signed Sept. 15, and All West representatives met with all 20 of the Sweetwater Television company employees. Walkenhorst said change can be disruptive to people and they wanted to meet with them as soon as the deal was made. Marty Carollo will be the resident manager.

“We’re excited about this acquisition,” Walkenhorst said. “The 20 employees we’re absorbing. We are committed to them.”

All West began in 1912 and has a fiber network that extends through Lincoln and Uinta counties down to Rich, Summit and Wasatch counties in Utah. It has extensions into both Salt Lake City and Utah County. This fiber network has allowed the company to provide residential broadband service to 1 Gig and business broadband options up to 10 Gig. The company prides itself on being up-to-date with technology and offers competitive TV and telephone services as well.

Walkenhorst said Sweetwater Cable has done a great job and they are ready to expand on that. The purchase not only included the absorption of all employees, but Sweetwater Cables’s assets, including its fiber lines. All West has already started the process of inspecting all of the lines to see what they have.

They would like to bring fiber internet access to businesses and residents in Sweetwater County. Walkenhorst said the closest fiber line the company owns is in Kemmerer. They would access that line to provide fiber to Green River and Rock Springs. The company will have multiple connections and paths.

“We have the experience and new ideas,” Walkenhorst said. “We want to take everything Sweetwater (Cable’s) done and build on it.”

All West wants to push fiber closer and closer to the customers, which will allow them to increase their internet speeds.

Walkenhorst said they would like to take fiber to businesses, which would allow businesses unlimited access.

When Walkenhorst was asked if they would be able to bring fiber to every business and home, Walkenhorst said that they could increase people’s internet speed, but not necessarily though fiber.

The company offers fiber, Coax and DSL and can provide 25, 50, 100 Mbsp with Coax.

“We’ll try to do what makes the most sense,” Walkenhorst said.

Walkenhorst said the speed customers purchase is the speed they will get all day. It won’t change in the evenings or at other busy internet times.

“It will be important on what you guys can provide to get businesses in here,” Commission chairman Reid West said.

Walkenhorst said they are hoping to have some of these changes in place before the end of the year and they look forward to working with the community.

“We don’t want to be a hands-off company. We want to be a hands-on company,” Walkenhorst said.

 

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