The company said in a news release that it would invest $3.5 million more in 2015 to add to the $16.5 million it has already invested in the past five years.

“This is just good business, keeping up with technology and we’re doing this companywide,” said Cable ONE General Manager Scott Geston.

MidCo Senior Vice President of Public Policy Tom Simmons said the Cable ONE announcement appears to be a normal business move. MidCo is in the process of entering portions of Fargo only serviced by Cable ONE and its service will be offered to most Fargo residents by 2017.

Cable ONE, in the release, said it planned to upgrade the capacity of its high-speed data equipment, its fiber optics backbone and the installation of two new cable modem termination systems.

The upgrades will allow the cable company to keep up with not only speed but how much bandwidth a person uses.

Geston said more people are using streaming services for video content and cable companies are having to keep up with upgrades, especially to cater to the younger consumers.

“The appetite of the users, it’s closely following our increase in capacity,” Geston said. “We just think the improvements are good business for our long-term goals and investments.”

Geston said there are no planned increases in rates for the Internet service this year. He said the company has also converted to an all-digital service and has added 40 new channels since March. He said offering all-digital channels will allow for faster Internet speeds for customers.

While both companies avoided calling Cable ONE’s upgrades reactive to MidCo’s expansion, both acknowledged the upgrades and competition will be good for the Fargo cable and Internet consumer.

“I think we’ll be giving a good challenge to Cable ONE, but I think Cable ONE will give a good challenge to us, too,” Simmons said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Josh Francis at (701) 451-5715