A Phoenix-based cable company has bought a minority interest in Wisper Internet, a Mascoutah firm that provides wireless internet service in rural areas.
Wisper announced the investment by Phoenix-based Cable One on Monday but did not provide financial details. Nathan Stooke, the former professional swimmer who founded Wisper in his garage in 2003, had been the firm’s sole owner.
Stooke said in a statement that his company “reached a point where it became imperative to bring in a partner.”
Wisper’s 150 employees provide internet service to 20,000 subscribers in Illinois, Missouri and four other states, and the company has been growing rapidly. It won $220 million in subsidies in 2018 from the Federal Communications Commission to bring broadband to underserved rural areas, and last year it committed to serve additional areas as part of Microsoft‘s Airband Initiative.
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