Port signs fiber-to-home agreement

Garth Meyer, Whitman County Gazette | Aug 13, 20200

COLFAX – The Port of Whitman County announced Aug. 6 a collaboration to bring a fiber internet network to new areas of Whitman County.

Construction will take place in Rosalia, Tekoa, Oakesdale, Garfield and Palouse, to begin this fall in certain areas, laying lines in the ground.

Ziply Fiber of Kirkland, Wash., will build the infrastructure while the Port pays a $1,280,700 indefeasible right-of-use fee (IRU), which grants the Port the right to use the system for 20 years, to sell its connections wholesale to internet providers serving these towns.

The agreement with Ziply allows the Port to save an estimated $1.5 million in construction costs, since they will not be doing the building.

“At the end of this project, these rural communities will have services on par with the largest urban areas, and that’s really exciting,” said Joe Poire, executive director of the Port of Whitman County. “At the same time, we’re freeing up capital to expand our county’s access to high-speed internet. This is a win-win.”

Ziply Fiber, which recently acquired the northwest operations of Frontier Communications, has committed more than $500 million to its network and services throughout the region.

The company has begun fiber “build-out” and network improvement projects in regional markets which have not had fiber before. Many of these are small towns such as in Whitman County.

“We believe you don’t have to live in a big city to get great internet, especially in this time where so many people across the region work from home and engage with their schools, community groups, friends, customers, and work teams online,” said Harold Zeitz, Ziply Fiber CEO. “We can make the former Frontier network better, and that is why we are here improving service for our existing customers, and alongside the Port, enabling new customers in Whitman County to access fiber internet.”

Construction on these local projects is expected to continue through next year.

The IRU agreement maintains an open-access fiber optic network. The Port of Whitman County has long championed this model to promote competitive services for rural residents.