by Dennis Dalman
At a recent Sartell City Council meeting, the council approved a cable TV franchise license for “Tekstar Communications,” a subsidiary of Arvig Enterprises Inc.
The city currently has one cable provider – Charter Communications.
With Tekstar on board, the city would see revenue from that company, and residents and businesses would have more cable options.
In its license application, Tekstar stated it plans to provide up to 156 cable channels that include general entertainment, news, sports and premium channels. Tekstar uses an app-based streaming service similar to those of Hulu and Netflix. Customers will need an Arvig Internet connection.
Arvig started in 1950 as a telephone company in eastern Otter Tail County. Now, its broadband cable network serves 60,000 residents and businesses in Minnesota, with its streaming headquarters in Perham.
Arvig is named for a family that owns 60 percent of the company’s stock, with the other 40 percent owned by people in its Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
The Sartell-St. Stephen Newsleader will have more information about Tekstar for readers as it becomes available.