Posted on August 3, 2020

Sometimes the Rumor is True: Fast Fiber Internet is Coming to Atchison 

As early as Summer 2021, some Atchison businesses and residents could have exceedingly fast, and scalable broadband speeds that surpass what is available in most of the country. Sounds cool, but how’s that, you might ask.  We, at Rainbow Communications, of Everest, KS, are excited to announce that we are building a fiber-optic broadband network in our neighbor city, Atchison. 

You may have heard of us. We made some excellent friends over the last few years, namely the City of Atchison and the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation. In 2018, with a private-public partnership with the City of Atchison and Atchison County, we extended our fiber-optic network to the Shannon Industrial Park, where businesses previously struggled with limited access to internet service. The progressive partnership enabled the companies at Shannon Industrial Park to receive extremely fast speeds of up to 1 gigabit by 1 gigabit and attracted new business. 

In 2019, the impressive folks of the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation explained their visionary plans for the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport Hangar Museum. Besides showcasing the same model of Amelia’s airplane, Muriel, the foundation envisions interactive exhibits and innovative programming as educational and tourism attractions. When the foundation asked if we could extend our fiber internet to the airport, we were happy to help. Fiber internet improves the airport’s operational efficiency and is a scalable solution for their future dreams of interactive exhibits. 

Atchison, you are visionary folks, and you deserve a super-fast, reliable, and scalable internet service that can keep up, and nothing can beat fiber internet in getting you there. That’s why we thought the perfect theme for this multi-year build-out period is “Take Flight with Rainbow Fiber” in honor of your adventurous and pioneering daughter, Amelia. 

Building the broadband network in Atchison involves laying and attaching more than 75 miles of fiber-optic cable. To say we are committed, seems an understatement, in phase one we are investing at least $3 million in the downtown area. Although, it’s not just about that. At Rainbow, we emotionally invest in our communities. Besides already frequenting your stores and restaurants, now we will be active participants in your local chamber, civic organizations, and help support Atchison’s anchor institutions. Although our headquarters is a short distance northwest on HWY 73, we sought a permanent residency by purchasing the old Atchison Grocery Warehouse at 101 Commercial Street. Until renovations are complete, our temporary office will be in the Berger Building at 110 North 6th Street, opening Spring 2021. 

The fiber build-out will consist of breaking Atchison into thirteen areas or as we call them, Fiberhoods. Construction will begin in the downtown area. After that, the Fiberhoods meeting the interest criteria will be next on the waitlist. Interested in reliable and jet-fast fiber internet service? Great!  Visit our website at fiber.rainbowtel.net or call 1-800-892-0163. Register your name, address, and contact information to book your future ticket to take flight with Rainbow fiber. 

Atchison, we cannot wait to serve you. This is no fly-by; we’re here for the duration.

In the upcoming months, we’ll keep you updated on the fiber flight plan along with more quirky aviation terms to come.