A Eureka co-op is answering the call for better telecommunications service in the West Valley. InterBel Telephone Cooperative, Inc. is in the process of expanding south with a new transport into the northwestern portion of the Flathead Valley.

The expansion is set to provide fiber internet service in an area encompassed by the West Valley School District, bordered by Farm-to-Market Road on the west and Whitefish Stage Road on the east. A total of 1,200 to 1,500 customers could eventually be eligible for InterBel’s fiber internet service.

“Where there is a desire for customers to have an alternative [internet service], then we will build it,” said InterBel General Manager Jason Moothart.

InterBel was established as a telecommunications co-op in Eureka in 1962, and its number-one priority remains co-op members in Eureka and northern Lincoln County, Moothart stressed. Building the new transport began as a way to expand service for Eureka internet customers, he explained.

“We’re going to do what’s best for the co-op,” Moothart reiterated.

Internet users in the Flathead Valley reside beyond the scope eligible for membership in the InterBel co-op.

However, with InterBel’s new infrastructure south of its center of operations, Moothart said the co-op received “such significant interest” in utilizing the fiber that the organization decided to share its resources.

There is currently no widespread fiber internet option in the West Valley except for a few “very sporadic” spots, Moothart said.

The opportunity was there for InterBel to step in and improve service, and it’s a market that’s only growing as the local population expands.

Moothart said InterBel has received interest from new residents moving into the area and existing West Valley denizens who have adjusted their internet consumption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has driven some significantly different behaviors,” Moothart observed.

The trend toward working from home has spurred a need for speedy and reliable internet service, and a greater proclivity to stay home for leisure activities has further contributed to the demand for internet.

Bandwidth consumption industry-wide rose 30% last year, Moothart reported, and that percentage tends to skew even higher in rural areas.

“With more people working from home, it’s more important to have consistent and high-speed services,” he said.

InterBel’s fiber will be able to provide 1 gigabit speeds to residential customers in the West Valley.

In the first year, Moothart said the co-op plans to add 200 new customers in the West Valley. But the exact timeline could be accelerated if InterBel successfully secures grant funding for the project.

Expanding south also opens the door for InterBel to potentially grow its Flathead footprint in the future.

Moothart said that possibility “just depends on the market.”

“There’s always that opportunity we continue to look at the Flathead Valley,” he said.

In the last seven to 10 years, Moothart said, InterBel has expanded its fiber offerings deep into remote corners of Lincoln County.

“We want to bring that to other communities,” Moothart said.

“Our first priority is our existing territories in North Lincoln County,” he added. “We want to build on that legacy to support what we think is part of our community.”

InterBel Telephone Cooperative Inc. is located at 300 Dewey Ave., Eureka, MT 59917. To reach InterBel, call 406-889-3311.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 406-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.