Internet speed: 35.6 Mbps downlink; 6.9 Mbps uplink

Population: 1 million

Main Internet services: Cable, DSL, Fiber

Main Internet Service Providers: Charter, CenturyLink, Blackfoot

Colocation Datacenters: 3

Colocation Market: Undeserved

According to Akamai.com, the average downlink Internet speed in Montana is 35.6 Mbps and the average uplink speed is 6.9 Mbps.

Main Internet services provided in Montana are as follows:

– Cable – 90% coverage
– DSL – 85% coverage
– Fiber – less than 5% coverage

Main Internet Service Providers established in Montana are the following:

– Charter (Cable) – 90% availability
– CenturyLink (DSL) – 80% availability
– Blackfoot (Fiber) – less than 5% availability

Gigabit Internet in Montana

Gigabit Internet services are little or no available in Montana, as reflected by the very low penetration rate of only 3%. This service is mostly available for businesses, and residential customers have yet to see speeds higher than 100 Mbps at best.

According to datacentermap.com, there are currently 3 colocation datacenters established in Montana. Most colocation datacenters are located in Billings (2), while the rest are located in Bozeman (1).

In Billings, the most important colocation providers are the following:

– iConnect Montana
– Parsec Data Management

In Parsec, the most important colocation provider is the following:

– Montana Opticom

Prominent Colocation Providers

One of the largest colocation providers established in Montana is iConnect Montana. This company operates a 47,000-square-foot facility which serves as the area’s largest location for interconnectivity. The datacenter specializes in providing wholesale and retail colocation services, in addition to diverse disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. The company primarily serves hosting, ecommerce, and financial businesses. The datacenter features carrier neutrality, with on-site access to many telecommunications providers and other carrier hotels, such as: AT&T, Abovenet, BCE, Comtel, Excel, Onfiber, Sprint, Verizon, XO, etc.

Colocation Industry in Montana

Montana is not known as a colocation market, but recent investments made by large colocation providers in the region indicate moderate growth in comparison with preceding years, when Montana did not boast any colocation providers whatsoever. Due to the fact that the state is mostly rural, and that its geography is not suitable for large development, we may not expect Montana to actually become a thriving market for colocation services. In rare cases, customers opt for colocation services in this state due to it being in close proximity to Seattle’s substantially more expensive market.

Advantages for Colocation

There is a series of advantages that we can underline, and is as follows:

– temperate climate
– low risk for natural disasters
– proximity to Canada
– low costs for electricity, much cheaper than Seattle and other neighboring markets