I had been hearing about a new option for broadband internet in Western Montana so I asked around and found out about a non-profit called the Northwest Rural Broadband Alliance.

The Northwest what?

The Rural Broadband Alliance is a non-profit foundation dedicated to building fast, affordable, community-powered broadband networks.

Who's running this non-profit?

Elvis Nuno is their President, Co-Founder, and Head of Montana Network Operations. He was born and raised in Missoula and is a veteran in the telecom and wireless ISP industry. Elvis has a specialization in network engineering automation and cloud engineering and is a senior Developer Operations specialist.

So a legit company headed up by a local AND the opportunity to invest in my own internet? They had my attention. Elvis Nuno was on my show to explain the plan.

What's the plan?

The ultimate goal is to increase access to modern broadband connectivity for rural residents by building local community-owned networks in the Bitterroot and Missoula valleys, from Hamilton to Polson, and for surrounding communities. Currently, there are few choices for internet providers in Western Montana, and especially in our smaller communities. This plan would assist you in helping your neighbors and fellow Montanans get affordable internet.

You can earn revenue by helping.

Residents have the opportunity to host a relay--basically an antenna on your house--and in return, you will earn real-time revenue that goes to subsidizing your service costs, and you'll be helping neighbors get broadband internet. The national telecom providers we use now have no real investment in our communities.

While on my show, Elvis explained that this will also assist Montanans who currently live right outside an ISP. So far, the idea has received an incredible response from the community, with 550 customers already pre-registered. Crowdfund Montana is hosting Rural Broadband Alliance's investment crowdfunding campaign, which is different than GoFundMe or Kickstarter in that rather than just giving money, you are directly investing in the organization.

Sounds interesting, right? Learn more here.

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