VALDOSTA — Lowndes County will get another option for high-speed Internet service in 2017.

Hargray Communications, a South Carolina-based firm, will be rolling out a commercial and residential fiber-optic data network in Valdosta in the first quarter of 2017, said Stephen Burd, the company’s director of strategic development.

The company will offer several high-speed data services, including Internet access, telephone service and cable television packages, he said.

“Hargray was established in 1949 as the local telephone company (for Hilton Head, S.C.) and has expanded since,” Burd said.

The company is headquartered in Hilton Head and focuses on the low country of South Carolina plus central and southern Georgia, he said.

The company’s core network for Lowndes County will reach from Downtown Valdosta west to the Kinderlou subdivision area, Burd said.

While the area around Moody Air Force Base north of the city is not in the planned first-quarter rollout, the company will be looking in that direction for future expansion, he said.

Hargray’s Internet service plans are flexible and do not involve data caps or speed throttling, Burd said.

Lowndes County’s high-speed data scene has been busy in the last few months. Aside from AT&T and Valdosta’s long-established provider Mediacom, Atlanta-based Southern Fibernet began operations in Lowndes County, building out a network from Moody AFB in the wake of another service provider suddenly ceasing operations without warning.

Burd said Hargray is aware of the competition.

“When we enter a market, we build our own network,” he said.

The firm is working to secure an office storefront in Downtown Valdosta, Burd said.

Hargray’s website is www.hargray.com.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.