Powering Connections for Properties

Just before you reach the Black Hills, tucked away on the north side of I-90, is the eighth largest city in South Dakota. The growth of Box Elder isn’t a secret. With Ellsworth Air Force Base bringing in new residents from all over the country, it’s easy to see how housing is an important topic in the community.  

“We're expecting to have a lot more people around,” said Todd Tucker, Community Director at Antelope Ridge. “So there certainly needs to be open houses and availability for people to move in.” 

Antelope Ridge is one of the main providers of housing in the area. With 780 homes, they can have close to 3,500 residents at full capacity, and they all need internet.  

“I feel like 90% of the population lives off the internet,” stated Tucker. “And one question our residents always ask is how reliable is the internet and who are the internet partners they can choose from? And it's always been really easy for us to say Midco.” 

Antelope Ridge has worked with Midco for years. As the property’s needs evolved, Midco was right there with new solutions for their residents and for their office. 

“Midco has been a staple for us since the property transitioned from base housing in 2011,” said Tucker. “We've been through a few rounds of services with Midco.”  

At different points in time, Midco provided cable TV and phone systems in their offices for many years. As Antelope Ridge transitioned into different products and their needs changed, Midco was still able to meet their demands.  

“We rely on Midco to have fast, high-speed internet at all of our workstations,” continued Tucker. “Making sure we've got easy access to tech support and fast, reliable internet makes my job – and my staff's job – much easier.” 

With Midco taking care of business services for Antelope Ridge and being the recommended provider for residents, Tucker felt confident in trusting the team to take on a new venture.  

“We're actually just getting ready to go into a large bulk agreement with Midco,” explained Tucker. “So, we'll be providing Midco internet to all of our residents moving forward. It just kind of made sense for us to take the next step. It's going to help residents, it's going to provide them reliable internet at a lower cost, and it's also going to give us the ability to enhance some of the smart home technology that we have in some of our homes.” 

This decision was the result of conversations between Tucker and Joe Jarding, Midco Senior Account Executive. 

“I've been working with Joe for a lot of years,” said Tucker. "He and I have developed a really good relationship along the way. And in fact, the transition from revenue share to bulk for us began at a Multi-Housing Association event we both were at. We started having the conversations, and six months later we had an agreement signed, sealed and ready to get moving forward with next steps.”  

Having a long-standing relationship with Midco meant Tucker had a great understanding of how Midco operates when it comes to the needs of its customers.  

“Midco's customer service is really great,” stated Tucker. “They have the ability to dial in and catch what's going on very quickly. And because they are well trained, they can problem solve when you're on the phone with them without even having to send out a service technician. So, that's always been really nice from the business side.”  

Beyond having a local partner for their property, Tucker appreciates what Midco brings to the community of Box Elder. 

“Midco is a company that everybody knows in this area, and you see everywhere,” explained Tucker. “They've always been a big partner with the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association, sponsoring events that we host.” 

Beyond being present at SDMHA events, Tucker also sees Midco as an integral member of the Box Elder community.  

“Midco has also sponsored some of our local events,” said Tucker. “I know they sponsor Box Elder events, and they are one of the best community partners that I've ever worked with, just in terms of how they want to be involved in the community.”