Representatives from IdeaTek, Emporia Main Street, and the city of Emporia were on hand to discuss the impact of the telecommunications company’s $14 million investment in bringing “ultra-fast fiber Internet” to the area.
“Anytime you're talking about high tech and Internet, you want your consumers to have as much choice as possible,” said Mark Detter, Emporia Deputy City Manager. “I think we have two great players in this market, and I think it'll help us in the future to attract business.”
IdeaTek is promising to connect more than 10,000 homes and businesses to reliable, high-speed Internet that is “unmatched across most of Kansas and far surpassing what other providers can offer.”
John Terry, a representative from IdeaTek, stated that competition with existing Internet providers will offer consumers more choices, ultimately leading to improved service.
“Competition is good. It makes all of the competitors step up their game,” said Terry. “One thing that we're very proud of is that we do not have residential contracts. We want people to use our service because the service works. We want people to choose us because we have a good support staff and we are involved in the community, not because we have a piece of paper locking them in for three years.”
Terry says that IdeaTek anticipates the first three zones west of downtown will be online by the end of the month, with the entire city expected to go live by early April 2026. To assist local customers in Emporia, the company will have an area office and employees regularly present in the community.
Aside from expanding Internet options for consumers, Emporia Main Street executive director Casey Woods says IdeaTek’s expansion into the city will open up more opportunities to attract new businesses to the area.
“One of our selling points moving forward is we've got a redundant broadband network, and we've got multiple service providers,” said Woods. “That's really what businesses are looking for, is that secured network that allows information to get in and out and allows them to conduct business at the speed of broadband.”
IdeaTek will also hold an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Lyon County History Center to answer questions on the construction process, speeds, and pricing.
Prices will start at below $50 a month with no contracts and unlimited data. To view the full price chart, visit IdeaTek’s official website.
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