How to make the region’s fastest, most consistent internet service work even smoother

This paid piece is sponsored by Midco.

Independent experts agree: Midco internet is the forerunner for speed, consistency and the lowest latency across its extensive footprint.

Ookla®, a global leader in internet testing and analysis, recently ranked Midco as No. 1 in South Dakota for fastest median download and upload speeds, highest network Consistency Score™ and lowest latency. Midco also achieved the top spot in these categories in various locations across its multistate footprint.

In an independent review, CNET recently ranked Midco as the Best Internet Provider in North Dakota and South Dakota, stating: “Midco pretty much has the Dakotas sewn up regarding broadband coverage. Availability, good top speeds and solid customer service make Midco a top choice.”

“Midco’s commitment to its Fiber Forward initiative has significantly upgraded our customers’ experience with enhanced connectivity,” chief operating officer Ben Dold said. “Recognition from CNET, along with Ookla’s data, demonstrates the positive impact – showcasing that in many markets across our footprint, we offer the fastest and most reliable network.”

So if you’re a Midco customer, the internet coming into your home “is great,” said Teresa Lai, residential product manager.

“We have outside validation that it’s excellent internet, especially when you compare it to 5G home internet, which you may have seen in the news lately from wireless providers offering home internet.”

But once the internet arrives inside your house, you likely rely on Wi-Fi to connect your many devices.

“Our goal is whole-home coverage,” Lai said. “By adding Midco Wi-Fi to your internet service, our customers have the tools and technology to eliminate so-called ‘dead zones’ or ‘buffer zones,’ and our customers are taking advantage of that and finding their service has never been more seamless.”

Midco delivers three key services as you eliminate buffer zones in your home: reliability, control and protection, she said.

Reliability

No one wants the internet to quit working, whether you’re doing at-home learning with your kids or watching a big game or new movie.

Midco Wi-Fi blends hardware and software to ensure your devices stay connected no matter where you are in the home. For many customers, extra equipment is not required to experience the benefits of Midco Wi-Fi, but others may need one or more Midco Wi-Fi pods, along known as extenders, for seamless connectivity.

From small, narrow apartments to multistory homes where a corner in your office or the designated area for at-home learning might be hard to serve, “this places Wi-Fi where it’s really needed,” Lai said. “It’s super easy. There’s no wiring involved. You just download the app, follow the instructions and plug in your pod or pods.”

In addressing dead zones, “a lot depends on the layout of your house,” she added. “Sometimes, certain materials or the placement of walls can be a detriment, and there are some guidelines based on square footage that our team can talk through with you.”

Once your hardware is installed, Midco’s powerful software “learns your home,” Lai continued. “It will optimize your network for you and your devices.”

Control

Once Midco customers download the Midco Wi-Fi app, they have full control and visibility into their home internet.

“When the app is installed, you can see all the pod, device and network activity,” Lai said. “You can ensure your pods are active, or if you notice a device has poor signal visibility, you might decide to add a pod to that area, which is very simple.”

Parents also have full content access control through the app.

“You can add settings for each device and assign devices to users,” Lai said. “For instance, you can assign an iPad to your child, and then every device assigned to the child will have a certain level of parental control.”

Options include “time out” for when you might want to suspend a certain service temporarily – limited access to gaming on a snow day, for example. There’s also an “internet freeze” setting that allows ongoing disabling of service, such as shutting down connectivity for kids after a certain hour at night.

“It’s also a helpful way to monitor connected devices,” Lai said. “I use it to investigate why my Furbo dog camera might be down or to confirm my Nest fire alarm is connected.”

Protection

Midco Wi-Fi software also provides powerful protection against the inevitable “bad actors” in cyberspace.

“There are built-in safeguards to block malicious traffic, and the software is very good at detecting it,” Lai said. “It’s also strong at quarantining one of your connected devices, so in the off chance something happens to one device, you don’t want it to ruin everything on the network.”

The total visibility into your home also helps monitor your kids’ internet use and ensure they aren’t navigating to platforms or websites that tend to attract malware threats.

“We’ve had instances of people noticing how many threats were blocked on a child’s tablet, and it was a good chance for parents to talk with their child about not going to certain website anymore,” Lai said.

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