Whether you call them “startup accelerators” or perhaps “entrepreneurship ecosystems,” it’s becoming clearer that many people with ideas for new companies are increasingly looking for ultra high-speed internet options to help their ideas take off quicker.

That’s an opportunity for broadband service providers, but not just the largest ones like Comcast Business, which counts a business incubator in Reston, Va., as one of its customers in the Washington D.C. metro area. As an example of the growing prospects of serving the startup market in smaller communities, Midco announced on Tuesday it has formed a five-year strategic partnership with the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship campus in the Sioux Falls, S.D. Midco provided the direct fiber connection, and Zeal performed internal hardware upgrades to deliver faster and better performing internet connection to their resident entrepreneurs and economic development organizations.

The combined fiber connectivity and network upgrades went live at Zeal earlier this month and reportedly happened without additional expense to users. Zeal reports it invested $10,000 in hardware upgrades including access points, software, and network equipment.

“Partnering with Zeal is a natural fit for us. When you look at the entrepreneurs and organizations in Zeal’s programs, you can’t help but be inspired by their innovative, trailblazing spirit,” Jon Pederson, CTO at Midco, says. “We’re excited to empower them with the connectivity to build the next generation of Sioux Falls-area businesses.” 

Zeal entrepreneur Learn.Create.Build.Academy’s Co-Founder Shane Thomas notes that the increased speed alone allows his company to be more efficient and effective as it works to develop and host technology camps for kids.

“Since we run a technology company, Gigabit Internet positively impacts our ability to deliver services. We can also increase how many campers we host at Zeal, while improving the campers’ user experience,” Thomas says.