Kirkland, Wash. (Dec 21, 2020) – Ziply™ Fiber today announced that it had completed a critical phase of the fiber-optic network build-out taking place in Orofino and Weippe, Idaho, that will for the first time deliver gig-speed fiber internet and an all-new, state-of-the-art network to area residents and businesses. Ziply Fiber’s modern network is purpose-built for today’s world, where many families are at home together working, learning, streaming, video conferencing, gaming, and more at the same time. The construction of this next-generation technology was completed on Dec 15, and orders for service will be taken starting Dec 21 when the fiber network is officially lit up in both towns. The company is extending fiber to hundreds of residential and business addresses throughout the towns and will have more than 40 percent up and running by the end of the year. The remainder is scheduled for completion in early 2021.
Those who wish to check their address for fiber availability or who would like to sign-up to be alerted when fiber internet is available at their home or business can register at https://ziplyfiber.com/orofino if they are located in the Orofino area, and https://ziplyfiber.com/Weippe if they are located in Weippe. Ziply Fiber is investing in local communities like Orofino and Weippe to help improve internet connectivity to be on par with larger metropolitan areas throughout the nation. Residents and businesses will benefit from the significant upgrade a no data cap gig-speed fiber internet provider can deliver when uploading and downloading content. The capacity fiber affords customers is critical in today’s online world to eliminate the hassles of slow and interrupted service such as streaming lag or dropped web conferences and the frustrations of incurring unnecessary data cap fees because of a poorly architected network.
While work will continue over the next several weeks in a staggered rollout across both cities, Ziply Fiber has already deployed many miles of new fiber-optic cables throughout the region and will continue to build out more territory from now through completion early next year.
"Like so many other towns and cities across our four-state footprint, Orofino and Weippe are two great communities that are overdue for a modern fiber technology upgrade. Ziply Fiber is proud to be the company that is here supporting access to the kind of connectivity and lightning-fast, reliable internet that residents and businesses need and deserve,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber.
Ziply Fiber believes that everyone – not just those who live in big cities – should have access to fast and reliable internet without data caps. The company has been actively building fiber to underserved markets across the Northwest since June 2020. While it will take time to upgrade 250,000 square miles of land throughout Ziply Fiber’s four-state footprint with new fiber-optic cables, local hubs, new offices, and immense amounts of new hardware to run the new network, the company is capitalized for and committed to hundreds of more projects in its service area.
As the company continues its rollout of fiber-based services across the region over the next several months and years, its DSL customers also will begin seeing service improvements. Part of Ziply Fiber’s investment is going to work that’s well underway to improve its core and aggregation network, across which all internet traffic travels. While there’s still more work to be done, by improving the quality, capacity, and reliability of those critical network components, customers of all types of services will benefit.
The next several months will be busy ones for the company, as additional fiber build projects will hit key stages where gig-speed fiber internet service can be turned on in Coeur d’Alene, Kellogg and Moscow, Idaho; Coos Bay, La Grande, and North Bend, Oregon; Anacortes, Kennewick, Pullman and Richland, Washington; and Libby, Montana.
Ziply Fiber’s primary service offerings are Fiber Internet and phone for residential customers, Business Fiber Internet and Ziply Voice services for small businesses, and a variety of internet, networking, and voice solutions for enterprise customers. The company will continue to support DSL. A full listing of products and services can be found at.ziplyfiber.com.
Ziply Fiber is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, and has major offices in Everett, Washington; Beaverton, Oregon and Hayden, Idaho. Most of Ziply Fiber’s executive team, which consists of former executives from AT&T, CenturyLink and Wave Broadband, either grew up in the Northwest or have spent the better part of 30 years living here. That local ownership and market familiarity is an important part of the company mindset and culture.