Alliance Communications

What Alliance Communications does

Alliance Communications Cooperative Inc. is a customer-owned communications cooperative headquartered in Garretson, South Dakota, founded in 1956 as a telephone utility and now providing fiber-optic broadband, cable TV, telephone, and managed Wi-Fi services across southeast South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, and northwest Iowa. The cooperative operates a 100% fiber-optic network with symmetrical upload and download speeds, offering residential internet tiers ranging from 300 Mbps at $49.95/month to 8 Gbps at $640/month, plus add-on services including Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi (GigaSpire Blast router, $9.95/month), AllStream Now streaming TV, ProtectIQ network security, Experience IQ parental controls, and Hosted Business Phone VoIP. The company partners with SDN Communications and 16 other independent broadband providers, tapping into a regional network of 50,000+ miles of fiber that covers more than 80% of South Dakota's geography.

The cooperative serves a mass-market mix of residential households, small and medium businesses, and rural community institutions, with approximately 4,000 non-member commercial customers served through a wholly-owned subsidiary in addition to the broader cooperative membership. Distribution is primarily direct: website Bundle Builder, phone sales (dial 611 or 605-582-6311), field sales representatives for business accounts, and community engagement including the SoDak Circuit esports tournament, annual member meetings, and school sponsorships. Pricing is no-contract, monthly recurring with optional activation fee ($50) and autopay/paperless bill credits ($25 each).

Alliance's value proposition rests on local 24/7 support from employees embedded in the communities served, underground weatherproof fiber infrastructure, no data caps, and the cooperative capital-credits model that returns profits to members. The company celebrated its 70th anniversary in May 2026, continuing active fiber expansion in 2025 (Beresford, Lennox, Parker areas) and exploring buildout into Luverne, MN with construction potentially starting in 2027. Recent leadership transition includes the May 2026 retirement of long-tenured CFO Kari Flanagan after 30 years of service.

Name

Alliance Communications

Legal name

Alliance Communications Cooperative Inc.

Website

https://alliancecom.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alliance Communications Cooperative is a customer-owned fiber-optic broadband, cable TV, telephone, and managed Wi-Fi provider serving residential customers, small businesses, and rural communities across southeast South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, and northwest Iowa from its Garretson, SD headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadband Internet Services

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Cable & Other Pay Television Services (4841), Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Broadband & Cooperative Fiber Operators (HDAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural & Universal Service Fixed Broadband Providers (HDAIABAJ), Unified Communications & Contact Center for Workplace (UCaaS/VoIP, Meeting Rooms) (BPAEAIAE)

Keywords

• Fiber optic internet
• Cable television
• Telephone services
• Rural broadband
• Managed Wi-Fi

Headquarters

HQ city

Howard

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Internet Services: Monthly subscription-based internet service with tiered pricing based on speed (300 Mbps to 8 Gbps). Revenue generated from residential and business internet subscriptions, with optional equipment rental for Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi.
2. TV Services: Cable TV subscription services including AllStream Now streaming TV, with channel lineups for multiple states. Revenue from monthly TV subscriptions with ESPN Unlimited now included.
3. Telephone Services: Residential and business phone services including traditional landlines and hosted phone solutions for businesses using cloud-based VoIP technology.
4. Equipment Rental: Revenue from rental of Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi router at $9.95/month and professional installation fees for fiber-optic connections.
5. Security Services: ProtectIQ network security subscription as an add-on service for network protection against threats.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alliance Communications is a customer-owned cooperative providing 100% fiber-optic broadband internet (300 Mbps to 8 Gbps), cable television, residential and business telephone, cloud-based hosted VoIP, managed whole-home and outdoor Wi-Fi, and a streaming TV service to residential and business customers across rural South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Product overview

Alliance Communications is a customer-owned communications cooperative providing a bundled portfolio of telecommunications services across South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. The core offering centers on 100% fiber-optic broadband internet available in multiple tiers ranging from 300 Mbps to 8 Gig, complemented by traditional cable TV, telephone services, and business solutions. The product suite includes managed Wi-Fi services (Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi with GigaSpire Blast router), streaming TV (AllStream Now), security features (ProtectIQ), parental controls (Experience IQ), outdoor Wi-Fi extensions, and hosted business phone systems. Customers manage services through the My Alliance WiFi mobile app. Internet tiers are priced from $49.95/month (300 Mbps) to $640/month (8 Gig), with optional add-ons like Ultimate Wi-Fi ($9.95/month) and ProtectIQ security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AllStream Now: Alliance's in-home streaming TV service available on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Android devices.
• Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi
• ProtectIQ
• Ultimate Wi-Fi for Business
• Hosted Phone
• Outdoor Wi-Fi

Products and services

• Fiber Optic Internet
• Cable TV
• Telephone
• Ultimate Whole Home Wi-Fi
• AllStream Now
• Outdoor Wi-Fi
• Hosted Business Phone
• Business Internet

Quantifiable outcome

• Speeds up to 8 Gbps available for demanding applications
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SDN CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 September 2024Alliance Communications partnered with SDN Communications and 16 other independent broadband companies to launch the SoDak Circuit esports event. SDN provides network infrastructure (50,000+ miles of fiber) and the partnership serves as a workforce recruitment tool for the telecommunications industry.
• Independent Broadband Companies (16 companies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSixteen independent broadband companies partnered with Alliance and SDN Communications to co-host the SoDak Circuit esports event, demonstrating regional collaboration among rural broadband providers.
• Engbarth Directional DrillingminorOthersConstruction contractor for fiber-optic network expansion projects in southeast South Dakota including areas north and south of Beresford.
• T&T UndergroundminorOthersUnderground construction contractor for fiber-optic network buildout projects.
• Telcom ConstructionminorOthersTelecommunications construction contractor for fiber infrastructure projects.
• Vantage PointminorOthersConstruction contractor involved in fiber-optic network expansion.
• Tri-State UtilitiesminorOthersUtility construction contractor for network expansion projects.
• WiltechminorOthersConstruction contractor for fiber-optic network construction.
• Priority Line ConstructionminorOthersConstruction contractor for fiber infrastructure buildout.
• Spartan UtilitiesminorOthersUtility construction contractor for network projects.
• CCS Inc.minorOthersConstruction contractor for fiber-optic cable installation.
• New Era UndergroundminorOthersUnderground construction contractor for fiber network projects.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Consolidated Communications: Consolidated Communications (now operating as Fidium Fiber) is a publicly traded rural and small-metro fiber broadband, TV, and voice provider serving similar customer segments in the Midwest and Northeast with multi-gig fiber-to-the-home services.
• Metronet: Metronet is a fiber-to-the-home ISP serving small and mid-sized cities and adjacent rural areas across 17+ states with symmetrical multi-gig internet, TV, and phone. Its focus on secondary markets with similar demographics to Alliance's footprint makes it a direct strategic comparable.
• Ziply Fiber: Ziply Fiber is a regional fiber-to-the-home provider serving rural and suburban communities across the Pacific Northwest with multi-gig internet, TV, and voice. Its rural-overbuild fiber strategy and customer segments closely mirror Alliance's profile.
• Vast Broadband: Vast Broadband provides fiber and cable broadband, video, and voice services to small and mid-sized communities across South Dakota, Minnesota, and Texas. It directly mirrors Alliance's rural fiber-overbuild strategy and bundled residential/business telecom offerings.
• Midco (Midcontinent Communications): Midco is a regional broadband, cable TV, and phone provider serving South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, and surrounding states — the closest direct competitor to Alliance, operating an overlapping upper-Midwest fiber/coax footprint with bundled residential and business services.
• TDS Telecom: TDS Telecom is a rural-focused broadband and telecom operator (originated as a telephone cooperative) delivering fiber internet, TV, and phone to small communities across 30+ states. Its cooperative heritage and rural fiber overbuild playbook closely parallel Alliance's strategy.
• Frontier Communications: Frontier is a major rural and suburban fiber-to-the-home provider with bundled internet, TV, and voice services across 25 states. It is actively pursuing fiber overbuilds in similar lower-density markets to Alliance's service territory.

Broad incumbents

• Lumen Technologies (CenturyLink/Quantum Fiber): Lumen operates Quantum Fiber and legacy CenturyLink services across rural and small-town America, including South Dakota. As a much larger national carrier, it competes on overlapping geography but lacks Alliance's cooperative local-service differentiation.

Others

• SDN Communications: SDN Communications is Alliance's strategic backbone partner and coalition lead, operating 50,000+ miles of regional fiber across South Dakota. It functions as an upstream network and ecosystem orchestrator rather than a retail competitor, and provides wholesale capacity and joint-marketing scale to Alliance.

Emerging players

• Starlink (SpaceX): Starlink delivers satellite broadband to rural customers nationwide, increasingly competing with fiber ISPs for underserved households in Alliance's service territory. While not a direct technology peer, it is the most relevant emerging alternative shaping rural broadband competitive dynamics.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/alliancecom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alliancecom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alliance Communications