KIMBALL -- Vistabeam Internet is expanding its service to the Kimball area with the help of state grants.  

The Nebraska Public Service Commission recently announced $31 million in Capital Projects Funds to provide broadband service to rural areas of Nebraska.  

Vistabeam was awarded $903,336 to service 202 locations around the City of Kimball, which will reach a couple miles outside of town, says Vistabeam CEO Matt Larsen.  

Since receiving the grant to run fiber to each of those locations, Larsen says the company has decided to fund their own project to service the entire town.  

Both projects will run concurrently and plan to be done by the end of 2025.  

Larsen says, “It makes sense for us to just go ahead and build the town itself since it will all be adjacent and close to the rest of the locations." 

The company’s intention is for all Kimball residents to have access to an additional internet service, Larsen says. 

The residential price points will run between $49.95 - $79.95. The low-end will be 100-megabit speeds and the high-end will typically be for businesses to run at a speed of 10-gigabits.  

Vistabeam already has wireless customers who live outside of Kimball, so Larsen says it will be helpful for the entire town to have access to fiber internet. 

“We're hoping we are going to bring a lot of value to the people who live in Kimball and the other parts of western Nebraska,” Larsen says. “We are intending to use as much local labor in building these as we can, so we’re hopeful that this money comes in and stays in the community.”  

Vistabeam has been around for 20 years and is based in western Nebraska.  

“The biggest thing is we feel like we can provide a really competitive quality broadband service that is mostly local and has a good reputation.”  

For more information about the company, visit the website at vistabeam.com.