An internet service provider based in the Rogue Valley is expanding into Salem with the goal of providing high-speed fiber internet service to 7,000 homes in the city’s northeast neighborhoods by the end of the year.
That number will expand over time as more infrastructure is installed across Salem in neighborhoods like Morningside, Faye Wright, Grant and Highland, company officials said. The Central Point-based Hunter Communications also plans to eventually offer internet to businesses, hire permanent local work crews, and will build an office in town as it establishes a foothold. Company officials said that process could take years.
The company has offices in Klamath Falls, Grants Pass, Eugene, and McMinnville. It is now expanding into Salem partially because Salem is underserved in its access to fiber-optic internet connection, said Mindi Brock, the company’s digital marketing manager.
“An estimated 17% of the population here in Salem have fiber. So, they are underserved and overcharged,” Brock told Salem Reporter.
Currently, Xfinity, which is the brand name for Comcast’s residential services, is the most widely available internet service provider in Salem, according to CNET. According to the website, 99% of homes in Salem have access to Xfinity which offers both cable and fiber internet options.
Fiber internet is a type of connection that relies on a network of cables made from special glass and rubber that transmit data using light directly to a home or business, Hunter’s website said.
Currently companies like Quantum Fiber also offer fiber internet in certain areas, according to CNET, however, the website said fiber internet is limited in Salem. The more common internet infrastructure in Salem is cable internet which uses coaxial cables to send data using electrical signals.
Brock said what will make Hunter stand apart from national telecom companies is a lower cost and local service.
“Everybody that works for Hunter, we don’t subcontract out of state. We all live and work here in Oregon,” Brock said. “Even our customer service team, we have some in McMinnville. So, if you call, you might get someone in McMinnville, Eugene or in Central Point.”
According to the company, service through Hunter starts at $30 and goes up to $120 depending on the speed of internet.
Hunter’s vice president of construction, Jim Lamp, got to Salem with his crew last week. They’re working on the company’s first service station, located in a residential area in northeast Salem at 1168 15th Street N.E.
When it comes to providing service in Salem, Lamp said Hunter intends to be a fixture in the community. While the company hopes to have limited service up and running by the end of the year, a timeline for expanding service city-wide is still uncertain.
“It is too far out because the construction has a lot of variables,” Lamp said.
Lamp said his crew at the moment is commuting from Eugene, but that as work unfolds, the company will hire a local team and set up a base of operations in Salem. Lamp said those jobs will be here to stay because the new infrastructure will require long-term maintenance.
“We will not stop building in Salem until it is all built. We will be here for years to come,” Lamp said. “We are not a company that comes in and builds and then somebody else takes it over. Whatever I build I already know I’ll have to maintain for 30 plus years.”
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.