NineStar Connect
Providing Infrastructure for Communities to Thrive
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Overview
NineStar Connect is a member-owned utility cooperative serving Hancock County and other parts of East Central Indiana, providing electric, communications, water and sewer services. The company describes itself as a smart utility that delivers fiber optic connectivity and other utility infrastructure for homes and businesses, with the aim of supporting economic development and growth in the communities it serves. It was formed from Hancock Telecom and Central Indiana Power, and says it is the second company in America to combine a communications company and an electric company. Bringing power and telecommunications under one cooperative is uncommon in the United States, where electric co-ops and telephone co-ops have historically operated as separate organisations.
On the communications side, NineStar Connect offers fiber optic broadband, voice services, hosted phone solutions and television, along with outsourced IT and security solutions. Residential customers can check which services are available at their address, and the company also sells service bundles and business offerings. The company has stated an aim to expand smart grid capabilities and to bring advanced communications services to unserved and underserved areas, a gap that rural co-ops often move to fill when larger commercial carriers see too little return in building out fiber networks.
NineStar Connect describes itself as a 125-year-old nonprofit cooperative with no shareholders or investors, owned instead by the members it serves. In a cooperative model, members both use the services and own the organisation, so any surplus usually goes back into rates, infrastructure or the community instead of being paid out as investor returns. The company says it is committed to affordable rates and invests in the community through charitable giving, scholarships for members' children, discounts for economically challenged households and local projects carried out by its employees.
Funding rounds
1 round. Latest: Grant, 22 Jul 2026.
| Date | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Jul 2026 | Grant | Not disclosed |
Office locations
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Recent posts from the NineStar Connect blog
- Mt. Comfort Technology Campus Statement
NineStar Connect is a member-owned cooperative, and our Board of Directors and employees remain focused on one responsibility above all others: serving and protecting the interests of our current and future members. This statement should not be construed as either statement in support or in opposition to the data center.
- Cybersecurity Case Study: Boone REMC
NineStar Connect Offers Pen Tests to Guard Against Cyber Attacks CYBER ATTACKS ARE ON THE RISECyber risks are a big concern for businesses across Indiana and in an effort to help its commercial membership identify security issues and mitigate potential pitfalls before an attack occurs, NineStar Connect offers a series of penetration tests to help […] The post Cybersecurity Case Study: Boone REMC appeared first on NineStar Connect.
- NineStar Connect Has Upgraded Its DNS Infrastructure — Here’s What You Need to Know
At NineStar Connect, we’re continually investing in the infrastructure that keeps your internet service running reliably. We’ve completed a significant upgrade to our DNS infrastructure — and for most residential customers, it’s already done.
- Honor Your Flag: NineStar Connect Now Accepting Worn U.S. Flags for Proper Retirement
At NineStar Connect, community service and respect for tradition are core to who we are—which is why we’re proud to announce that we are now an official drop-off location for worn, tattered, or faded U.S. flags. If your flag has reached the end of its service, you can bring it to any of our designated […] The post Honor Your Flag: NineStar Connect Now Accepting Worn U.S. Flags for Proper Retirement appeared first on NineStar Connect.
- Cybersecurity Case Study: Kankakee Valley REMC
Tabletop Exercises from NineStar Connect Asks, “What Would You Do?” A Tabletop Exercise, or TTX, is a collaborative role-playing activity in which participants work through hypothetical scenarios designed to test their responses to any number of real-world situations that might affect their organization.