News and Events

Sioux Falls, SD: Consumers who are considering in-home automation and monitoring have a new affordable, entry-level service option with Midco SmartHOME, offered by Midcontinent Communications®.

Just in time for the Sioux Empire Home Show in March 2015, Midcontinent has launched the new Essentials Package at just $14.95 per month. This new level of service allows customers to choose from several prepackaged bundles of equipment and deploy home automation without the higher price of a professionally monitored security system.

Other more comprehensive Midco SmartHOME packages offer customer choice between self-monitoring or professional monitoring, as well as an allowance that can be applied to equipment chosen by customers. Those packages range in price from $24.95 to $44.95 per month.

“Midco SmartHOME offers consumers the chance to remotely control and monitor their home’s lighting, door locks, heating and cooling, water leaks and more – whether you’re on the couch or on the other side of the country,” said Brad Schoenfelder, VP of Operations at Midcontinent.

According to a 2013 Forrester Research report, half of U.S. households will engage with home automation by 2020.

“There’s a growing swell of consumer interest in home automation capabilities as we move to an ‘Internet of Things’ culture that involves many Internet-connected devices in our homes. That theme was very strong at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show,” said Schoenfelder. “While there is even more great home control innovation on the horizon, today customers can enjoy affordable automation and monitoring solutions from Midcontinent as a trusted local provider.”

Homeowners and renters checking out ideas to make managing their home easier can see Midco SmartHOME demonstrated at the Security & Home Automation workshop at 6 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the Sioux Empire Home Show. A home show ticket is not needed to attend the free workshop in Meeting Room 2 at the Convention Center. Midco SmartHOME will also be featured inside the ticketed area at the Midcontinent Communications booth (M14) directly inside the main entrance to the Exhibit Hall.

“One piece of equipment that we’re really excited to tell people about is the water detector, which is a very good investment because it senses small water leaks before they become major, costly issues,” said Schoenfelder. “We’ve had customers place this water detector in their sump holes because they want to get a text message alerting them that the water is high, and their sump pump may not be working properly.”

Customers can also learn more about home automation and security at MidcoSmartHOME.com, where they can take a brief questionnaire to see which equipment might be best for lifestyles such as a family with kids or pets, a traveler, a renter, a tech guru and an owner of a second home or cabin.

Midco SmartHOME launched in 2014 and is currently available in select communities. A ZIP code availability tool can also be found at MidcoSmartHOME.com.