Montana
Broadband access is expanding in Montana, but rural areas still lag behind
In the southeastern Montana town of Belfry, 65-year-old resident Mary Boyer reflects on her relationship with technology.
“I’m a green-ledger girl,” Boyer said. “I can handwrite. I don’t like calculators. I never owned a television, I have a crank Victrola for music.”
Boyer’s home is about an hour south of Billings. The Beartooth and Pryor Mountains flank Belfry, as the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River meanders through it.
She said technology has always been slow to come to their town.
“We had a heck of a time getting songs – because we have to do it over the internet – for the karaoke machine,” she said. “And all of a sudden halfway through a song there’s no words or there’s no karaoke whatsoever.”
Boyer knows connectivity goes beyond a karaoke machine.
Before this year, she said their internet service couldn’t meet the community’s needs. Her neighbors rely on it for telehealth appointments, education and commerce.
“I think it’s all about the community and keeping them in touch with the outside world,” she said.
Montana ranks among the lowest in the country when it comes to internet access. And rural places disproportionately lack access to high speed connectivity compared to urban.
Montana ranks among the lowest in the country when it comes to internet access. Broadband Now, an independent research organization, ranked Montana second to last in the nation for internet speeds and affordability. And rural places disproportionately lack access to high speed connectivity compared to urban; this is known as the digital divide.
State officials and telecommunications companies have been trying to change that. Over the last few years, just shy of a billion dollars in federal funding aimed at tackling this issue came into the state. The goal is to use it to close the digital divide for good.
In the southern end of Belfry, Jay Velez stands in front of his restaurant, the Silvertip, admiring the scenery.
“What a view, man!” he said, looking toward the Beartooth Mountains. “It doesn’t suck here.”
His restaurant serves as a local watering hole. It offers the karaoke night coveted by Boyer. And this summer, the Silvertip’s internet got better.
“We just rely on it for our point of sale systems, and so far, it’s been working great,” he said.
His improved internet is due to newly installed fixed fiber optic lines. These are thick cables laid in the ground. They’re considered the “gold standard” for broadband connectivity.
But this technology is expensive to install, and it’s been slow to reach towns like Belfry.
“We’re way behind, in looking at the grander sphere of the problem,” said Misty Ann Giles, the head of the state’s broadband office ConnectMT. “We are farther behind our sister states. Montana does have a lot of challenges when it comes to thinking about internet access.”
Government-led efforts to close the digital divide have been underway for decades. The federal government established the Universal Service Fund in 1996, prescribing that “all Americans” should have access to basic connectivity. The fund subsidizes fiber installation and maintenance in remote areas.
But it wasn’t enough. So, another project emerged in 2018. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect program offers federal funds and loans to expand internet access.
Giles helped stand-up the program as former Chief of Staff at the agency’s Rural Development office.
“A lot of the work we did when we were at USDA when we first came into office was trying to look at the bigger Rubik’s Cube of, why are rural communities lacking some core services when it comes to education, telehealth, things like that in their communities,” Giles said. “And what it all came down to was connectivity.”
This connectivity became even more imperative during the pandemic. Business, community, health care and education all required a stable internet.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, broadband expansion timelines considered reasonable pre-COVID-19 became “unworkable,” and the Commission pushed to get rural communities connected faster. So the federal government launched several new programs.
Since 2019, around $900 million from four federal programs for rural broadband expansion has flowed into the state.
Since 2019, around $900 million from four federal programs for rural broadband expansion has flowed into the state.
The main sources include funds from the ReConnect Program, which go to telecom companies through grants and loans. Those total around $144 million for Montana-focused projects. Then there’s the American Rescue Plan Act, which provided $310 million; The Broadband Equity Access and Development program, which allotted around $308 million; Lastly, there’s the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which provided Montana $126 million for a 10-year period during its Phase I auction.
And it’s through these programs that Belfry’s internet just got a little better.
Back in southeastern Montana, Nemont Communications Chief Operating Officer Scott Paul drives through the 250-resident town on a sunny October afternoon.
“You probably didn’t see it, but look for an orange capped plastic pole,” he said, pointing out markers of their recent efforts. “Beneath that orange-capped plastic pole, there is gonna be a handhole. And then between those plastic poles, there’s fiber that’s buried underground.”
Nemont just replaced Belfry’s copper wire laid around the 1970s. Paul said copper was great for dial-up internet, but fails at providing the internet speeds we expect today. But installing fiber in Montana is expensive. It can cost up to $300,000 to reach a single home or business, according to Giles.
“If you’re trying to put all of this fiber into an area that’s all rock, then it becomes a lot more expensive because rock’s a lot harder to get through than the dirt,” he said.
For Belfry’s project, Nemont received $10 million ReConnect dollars to build fiber for around 1,000 households in 500 square miles. That’s an area the size of Los Angeles. Paul said they installed 80 miles of fiber just to reach Belfry.
Most companies rely on their customer base to cover the costs of installing internet infrastructure. But in low population states like Montana, that model does not always work. Paul said that’s why these funds are so important.
“It’s allowing us to escalate the speed of doing that,” he said. “We’re doing a little bit more now than we have done in the past, for that reason.”
Dozens of companies like Nemont have leveraged these federal programs to try and reach more residents. Sometimes the costs still exceed what they can afford, and they default.
According to the FCC, Montana’s broadband coverage increased 10 percent between 2023 and 2024. But there’s more work to be done. 70,000 homes and businesses across Montana still need better internet.
Some progress has been made. According to the FCC, Montana’s broadband coverage increased 10 percent between 2023 and 2024. But there’s more work to be done. 70,000 homes and businesses across Montana still need better internet.
And rural residents like Mary Boyer know how necessary it is to be connected.
“If we didn’t have the access to the good communications, we could be in a world of horse pucky,” she said.
State officials hope to bridge the digital divide by the end of the decade.
The Bridger project is a massive oil pipeline project that would come in from Alberta, Canada, into Montana at Phillips County, then go through nine counties before getting to Wyoming.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are reviewing the project, and it could cut across private, state, and federal land.
Watch Bridger pipeline story here:
Proposed Bridger pipeline would bring crude from Canada through Montana to Wyoming
The 647-mile-long Bridger pipeline would move up to 550,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
“It’s a win for Montana. It’s a win for America,” said Yellowstone County Commissioner Mark Morse.
Morse and the Yellowstone County commissioners are among the many Montana leaders supporting the project.
Just this week, they drafted a letter to the Bureau of Land Management expressing that support.
“The energy security is again, it’s going to be on the North American continent and transporting oil via a pipeline is safer than rail or truck,” Morse said.
Commissioners also say the pipeline would be an economic boost for Yellowstone County, bringing construction jobs, supply contracts, and local spending.
“We’ll be a hub for their construction activities,” Morse said. “Supplying parts and pieces, labor.”
But there are plenty of opponents.
They say the risks are simply too high, pointing to past oil spills, including the 2015 Poplar pipeline rupture that sent 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive and a diesel spill of 45,000 gallons near Sussex, Wyoming.
“If that crossing has spilled into the Missouri River, it eventually would make it to that intake,” said Lance Fourstar, co-director of the American Indian Movement Montana. “Highly carcinogenic tar sand bitumen, so we already know it’s highly carcinogenic.”
Fourstar also has concerns about sacred tribal lands.
“The key point of concern is the sovereignty and treaty rights,” Fourstar said. “This project crosses lands, that with treaty reserved rights, hunting, fishing, and gathering.”
The Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) says the pipeline would originate in Alberta with what it calls environmentally destructive fuel sources.
“It’s an environmental disaster waiting to happen in a state that gets a lot of revenue from fishing and agriculture. A majority of the route crosses through Montana, putting land and water at risk,” MEIC spokesperson Shannon James said in a telephone interview with MTN News.
But for Yellowstone County leaders like Morse, it’s a win-win, not just for Yellowstone County, but also the country.
“I just see energy independence for America,” Morse said.
MTN News contacted True Companies in Casper, which proposed the Bridger pipeline.
True and BLM were not available for interviews.
KALISPELL, Mont. — Country music star Walker Hayes will headline the 2026 Northwest Montana Fair concert, opening the Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo in Kalispell.
Hayes is scheduled to perform Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. The 2026 Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo runs Aug. 12-16.
Hayes is known for hit songs including “Fancy Like,” “AA,” and “You Broke Up With Me.”
“We are thrilled to bring Walker Hayes to the Northwest Montana Fair,” said Sam Nunnally, Manager of the NW Montana Fair & Rodeo. “Our goal each year is to create unforgettable experiences for our community and visitors, and this concert will be a highlight of the 2026 Fair.”
Tickets for the Walker Hayes concert will be available through the Northwest Montana Fair website at nwmtfair.com.
The Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo welcomes more than 80,000 guests annually and is one of the largest summer events in the region, featuring concerts, PRCA ProRodeo action, carnival rides, exhibits, food vendors, and family entertainment.
BOZEMAN — Aaron Flint and Al Olszewski, Republican candidates for Montana’s Western District U.S. House race, squared off Tuesday in their party’s only scheduled debate before the party primary.
The two debated for about 90 minutes at Bozeman’s Calvary Chapel before an audience of about 120 people. Bozeman anchors Gallatin County, which is second in Republican votes only to Flathead County within the 18-county district.
Natural resource jobs, affordable housing and U.S. military attacks on Iran dominated the discussion. Each question drew 12 minutes of response. Both men called for an end to stock trading by members of Congress, and for federal budgets to be passed on time through regular procedures.
The Montana GOP sponsored the debate. Candidate Christi Jacobsen, Montana’s secretary of state, was unable to attend, according to state Republican Party Chair Art Wittich. State Senate President Matt Regier moderated.
Among the highlights: Flint mentioned no fewer than eight times that he is endorsed by President Donald Trump. Olszewski mentioned Trump by name only a couple of times.
Never too far from Flint’s talking points were “far-left socialists,” whom he credited for “gerrymandering” the Western House District (which has delivered comfortable wins for Republicans since first appearing on the ballot in 2022). The 2026 election cycle was the target of Democrats on the state’s districting commission, Flint said. (Both Democrats on the commission that drew the district in 2021 voted against its current configuration.)
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The near faux pas of the night came during Olszewski’s discussion of good-paying jobs in trades and natural resources: “Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, you know, high-dollar, white-collar jobs, our remote workers who have moved into Montana, and we’ve adapted an economy around them. You know, these are the people, and those are the jobs that will bring our kids home, those high-paying white-collar jobs, or a good natural resource job in western Montana, in one of those mines, or, you know, you know, a sawyer or a hooker” — big pause — “as in timber, not the other way around.”
The line that didn’t land: Flint tried and failed to get audience applause for the 2024 defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester by Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy — an unseating Flint campaigned for.
“How many of you out there are so glad that we finally got rid of the flip-flop, flat-top liberal senator, Jon Tester? How many of you are so glad we finally did that?”
After a silence, Flint explained to people watching the debate on Facebook that the audience was just being polite.
“They’re waving because we can’t have disruptions. See, they’re good rule followers here in the Republican Party,” Flint said.
Asked how to alleviate Montana’s housing affordability crisis:
Olszewski: “The only way you can afford an expensive house is you’ve got to have a job that pays good money. Tourist jobs provide rent and roommates. Trades jobs, natural resource jobs, high‑dollar white‑collar jobs … those are the jobs that will bring our kids home.” Dr. Al, as Olszewski is widely known, said Wall Street investment buyers are distorting housing prices and the federal government has weakened the dollar.
Flint: “Thirty percent of the cost of a home is all due to red tape and regulations … It costs $100,000 to build a home before you even put a hole in the ground.”
Flint said reviving Montana’s timber industry would lower home values and added, “I support President Trump’s ban on these big Wall Street firms buying single-family homes. I think that’s something that we’ve got to get across the finish line.”
“We can deliver when it comes to making the Montana dream affordable again by delivering affordable housing. But another piece is promoting trades and trades education to build up our workforce.”
Asked how Congress should respond to the Iran conflict:
Olszewski: “I supported our president with what happened in Venezuela. There’s a $25 million bounty on basically someone that was killing our people through drugs, right? I’m not so happy with what’s going on in the Iran war. I’m not a warrior. I’m a physician from the military that fixed military people … What my perspective is, is that countries can win wars, but people do not. They don’t come back.” Olszewski said Congress will have to decide whether to authorize further use of military force and set terms in about 10 days.
Flint: “Let me just say this. We are sick and tired of these forever wars, and we do not want to see a long-term boots-on-the-ground Iraq-style nation-building exercise, and I think President Trump shares that mission as well. Let me also say this about Iran. First off, [former Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro is behind bars. [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is dead, but the far-left socialists are on the march in Montana.”
Asked about reforming Congress:
Olszewski: “What our congressmen and congresswomen have to understand is that if you’re in the House, the House belongs to the people, and they need to, first and foremost, represent you, not themselves, not special interests. It’s not about sound-bites. It’s about actually getting work done and governing.” Olszewski said the House needs to pass a budget based on 12 agency appropriations bills before the end of each federal fiscal year, a process known as “regular order.”
Flint: “We need to return to regular order and get single-subject bills and get these appropriations bills done one by one. If they can’t get a budget done, they shouldn’t get paid. And we need a ban on congressional stock trading. Because I think part of the reason why the American people are so frustrated with Congress right now is because … they believe that Congress is so useless, because we’ve got some of these politicians back there that are getting rich off the backs of taxpayers.”
Neither candidate offered a plan for cutting taxes, once a staple of Republican platforms. Both supported reductions in federal spending without identifying particular cuts.
Voting in Montana’s 2026 primary election begins May 4 and ends June 2.
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