Want fiber Internet? That’ll be $383,500, ISP tells farm owner

Internet service providers often charge thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to extend their networks to people outside their service areas.

But it turns out construction costs passed on to customers can be much, much higher. When the operator of a family farm in Nebraska requested fiber service from the local DSL Internet and phone service company, he found out that he’d have to pay an incredible $383,500 to subsidize the ISP’s construction.

That’s the price estimate Windstream Communications provided to the Norman R. Schneider Family Trust Farm in Ceresco, Nebraska, after CTO Nelson Schneider contacted the company about getting fiber service to replace his DSL.

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