ImOn begins $120 million fiber buildout in Duluth and Superior

Fiber crews were already working in Duluth’s Kenwood neighborhood, turning ImOn Communications’ $120 million Twin Ports plan into visible construction and setting up a new competitor that says it can deliver up to 5-gig symmetrical internet service. The Cedar Rapids-based company said each customer will get a dedicated fiber line into the home, with no bandwidth shared with neighbors or nearby businesses.

ImOn said the project began as a spring 2026 expansion into Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, after early planning and network design with city officials. The buildout is the company’s first move into Wisconsin and Minnesota and its eighth metro service area overall, a sign that the Great Lakes region has become a major growth market for the provider.

The company has also split the rollout into phases. A June 10 construction update said Duluth alone is expected to gain about 25,000 connected addresses in 2026 and another 26,000 in 2027, for a total Duluth investment of $100 million. Earlier public estimates for the broader Twin Ports project put the total at about $66 million, including roughly $50 million for Duluth and $16 million for Superior, showing how quickly the plan has expanded since the first announcement.

ImOn said residential service will reach up to 5 Gbps and business service up to 10 Gbps. The network will use both underground fiber and aerial fiber on existing utility poles, with crews working in utility easements and public rights-of-way. Residents are slated to get a letter in the mail two weeks before construction starts on their street, followed by a door hanger when work officially begins. In Superior, the company said construction status will be available by address and that residents will be notified before crews arrive.

For Duluth and the rest of St. Louis County’s northern edge, the competitive stakes are straightforward: more fiber can mean more options, faster upload speeds and stronger pressure on incumbents to improve price or service quality. Broadband has become central to work, school, telemedicine and small-business growth, and ImOn’s arrival could matter most in neighborhoods where households and employers have waited longest for a serious alternative to legacy internet service.