Banking on a Better Broadband Solution
When customers arrive at their local Frandsen Bank & Trust branch, they expect their financial information to be available and accurate up-to-the-minute.
“In some of our banking areas, it’s rural, so people have to drive in a long way to get to the bank,” explains Kurt Krueger, Frandsen Financial Corporation Vice President and Director of Network Services. “So when they’re here, we want to make sure we can help them and we’re not having network problems. We also have customers in medium-sized cities who are going to expect good service, and can go to another bank down the street if they don’t get it.”
"We were promised reliability and good support when there were problems, and a cost-effective solution. In all three areas, Midco has lived up to that."
High Tech Hometown
Frandsen Financial Corporation is a financial institution with community banks in largely rural communities throughout Minnesota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin. Krueger and his colleagues based in the company’s Arden Hills, MN, data center know that lightning-fast communication between branches is key to their success – but historically, it’s also been a major challenge. That is, until Frandsen teamed up with Midco® Business three years ago.
“We had had a tech on staff who had some prior familiarity with Midco, and highly recommended them,” says Krueger. “He had a good experience, so it was a combination of that and when we started talking to the salespeople, Midco’s footprint matched ours heavily.”
Midco’s unique investment in fiber technology throughout rural Minnesota and North Dakota was a great place to start, but Frandsen was looking for even more in a high-speed broadband solution. Krueger and his team were looking for a company that would actually live up to its sales pitch.
“We were promised reliability and good support when there were problems, and a cost-effective solution. In all three areas, Midco has lived up to that. The connections rarely go down, and when they have, we’ve gotten very fast, friendly, efficient support – and the connections are cheaper than what we’ve had in the past.”
"When we decided to get more bandwidth, it was very easy to make that jump with Midco. ... Midco is our preferred vendor in any new community we go in."
An Easy Transition and an Eased Burden
In addition to living up to promises, Midco’s hands-on approach has worked well for Frandsen. Krueger explains that the transition to Midco’s services was very smooth. He appreciated having one point of contact who coordinated everything – scheduling installation, testing, and connections at all of the locations, plus following up to ensure everything was humming along as it should.
With Midco as a partner, Frandsen’s team can better focus on other tasks, while feeling confident that their broadband connection is working perfectly. Krueger jokes that he sounds like “The Maytag Repairman” when referencing Midco – the solution is so low-maintenance, he doesn’t have to worry about it.
Partnership Today and Tomorrow
Frandsen Financial is in acquisition mode, procuring new banks annually – and as new Frandsen Bank & Trust locations open, Midco is right there, ready to provide the necessary bandwidth.
“Midco is very easy, very scalable,” says Krueger of the internet speeds his financial institutions enjoy. “We started out at most of our locations with 10-20 Mbps, and when we decided to get more bandwidth and increase it – in many cases between 50 and 100 Mbps – it was very easy to make that jump with Midco. We basically just contacted our sales rep and they made some changes on the back end. They coordinated it with us, we updated our equipment, and those upgrades went very smoothly. Midco is our preferred vendor in any new community we go in.”
Reliable High-Speed Internet
With Midco, you get more than a high-speed internet connection. We also provide around-the-clock support and service level commitments. You can count on Midco to be responsive to your needs.