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Triplett Mountain Communications
How we communicate has changes over the years. Many will still remember a party line phone system, and some may remember when you didn’t have to dial 689 to to reach in an in-town phone number. The fax machine changed how we communicated for business – instantly that signed document could be transmitted and before that technology could get overused, the internet began to change the lives of everyone.
In Superior, access to the internet has not come as quickly as more urban locations. In the late 90’s, dial up internet was the way to go. High speed internet was only a service that was available in the metro areas up until the last 10 years. Today, residents and business owners have several choices on how to access the internet. Triplett Mountain Communications is one of those choices. They are member of the Superior Chamber of Commerce and have been providing services to residents and businesses for about a year in Superior.
Most businesses and families need a reliable and fast internet service. Triplett Mountain made the investment in Superior after they connected to the dark fiber internet lines that run through Superior, which are owned and maintained by Salt River Project. Initially the investment was made to improve services to the San Carlos Apache Telecommunication Utilities Inc. (SCATUI) which provides the telecommunication services to the San Carlos Apache Reservation, which is about 60 miles east of Superior. SCATUI needed the technology infrastructure to improve their telecommunications and through this investment they were able to form another company to provide internet service to other communities where they could develop an off ramp from their internet infrastructure. Currently they provide internet services to Globe and Superior.
One of the major challenges to rural high-speed internet access is accessing a redundant path that allows the internet to continue providing service should a line become damaged or cut. In several instances, there have been major internet outages in Superior and rural Arizona due to rodents chewing through cables that travel across the desert floor or when construction crews unknowingly cut through fiber optic lines.
Triplett Mountain has their internet “back office” as they call it right off of Panther Drive in Superior. That small house that has a few antennas on it is where the internet magic lives. This connects their internet infrastructure to the SRP dark fiber lines that help to provide some redundancy for the overall network and they continue to work on additional redundant paths to ensure less outages and quality speeds. Triplett Mountain infrastructure investment can also benefit other internet service providers in the area, as they can sell some of their bandwidth to other service providers.
For business and residential customers, there are several packages to meet all budgets and streaming needs. Residential service starts at $49.95 a month for 10/3mg and business service starts at $99 for a 20/5mg per month. You can call to Triplett Mountain at 928-475-8624 to arrange for an installation or learn more about what your internet needs may be. The main customer service office is located in San Carlos, Arizona.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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