Montana residents were some of the first to get online back in the late '80's through a program called "Big Sky Telegraph". It was a state bulletin board project with helpers trained in many towns, often teachers or libarians, who helped people get access to computers, modems, and learn how to use them. I signed up in 1988 to be one of the "telegraphers" getting, at the time, a floppy disc for the BBS free from Frank Odasz at Western Montana University in Dillon. All I had to pay for was the long distance calls to Dillon to connect. One of our state senators, Conrad Burns, has been a long time promoter of internet access to rural areas and schools.
An intersting history of it here:
Case Study - Big Sky Telegraph


Happy virtual campfires,

Alice