Tipmont member and retired lineman Don Braun was the first customer to test out Tipmont's 250 mbps broadband internet service. (Photo provided/ Rob Ford, Tipmont communications director)

Tipmont member and retired lineman Don Braun was the first customer to test out Tipmont's 250 mbps broadband internet service. (Photo provided/ Rob Ford, Tipmont communications director)

LINDEN — Justin Arnold has a lot of Netflix bingeing to catch up on in the next couple weeks.

The 21-year-old will soon be part of the next round of Tipmont REMC members who will have access to the new fiber services that include high-speed internet, video and voice.

The electric cooperative recently finished a trial period with 12 members and is now moving forward with a service roll out to the southern part of Tippecanoe County and northern part of Montgomery in the towns of Romney, New Richmond and Linden.

The first building site broadband will be expanded to is in Linden and will service 1,200 members, Rob Ford, Tipmont communications director said.

The end game is to make broadband internet available to all 23,744 members.

Slow internet slows down productivity 

Arnold, who grew up without internet access in southern Montgomery County, has had his patience worn thin with years of buffering YouTube videos, blank Facebook pages and waiting for a connection from his WiFi speakers.

When he gets internet, he's going for the big package — 1,000 mbps per second.

Compare that to Arnold's current internet speed that averages between 10 and 15 mbps per second at his home in Linden.

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