New high-speed internet service coming to Pine, Richland residents

Residents in parts of Pine and Richland will be among those able to make use of a new high-speed fiber optic internet service.

Fidium Fiber is a new service from Consolidated Communications. It is being offered for the first time in Pennsylvania in the areas of Gibsonia, Cranberry, Mars, Saxonburg, Valencia and Wexford, the company announced on April 21.

Spokeswoman Shannon Sullivan said they are building to parts of Pine, Richland and West Deer townships.

Residents of those areas are able to pre-order now online at fidiumfiber.com/expansion.

In total, the service will be available to more than 13,000 homes beginning in May, with 17,500 homes expected to have access by the end of the year, the company said.

“Fidium is the future of Consolidated’s consumer fiber internet service, and we’re proud to offer it at a competitive price point to our customers in Pennsylvania,” said Erik Garr, president of consumer and small business for Consolidated Communications.

“Fidium’s reimagined customer experience includes more choices, control and personalization, but most importantly, Fidium delivers the ultra-fast speeds that customers need to work and learn from home,” he said.

According to the company, gigabit service will cost $70 per month. It includes wifi equipment and installation. No contracts are required and there is no data cap.

The wifi system is described as a “whole-home mesh” with a wifi 6 gateway and up to two extenders. An app will provide customization and control, and communication between a customer’s network and their smart home devices.

The company says it provides real-time, proactive network monitoring to solve issues remotely before customers are aware, and technical support.

The announcement came on April 21, when Consolidated announced that the service is also being offered in California, Illinois, Minnesota and Texas. Consolidated said it will build more than 400,000 fiber connections to homes across eight states in 2022, adding to the 330,000 new fiber connections built in 2021.