Kirkland, Washington (January 22, 2025) – A new, ultra-high-speed, 100-percent fiber optic network is expanding to Index, Washington, and the surrounding area thanks to a partnership between Snohomish County and Ziply Fiber, home to America’s Fastest Home Internet.
More than 27 miles of fiber will be constructed in the town of Index and along Highway 2 connecting locations from Big Bend to Baring. When construction is complete, more than 950 households and businesses will have access to the all-new fiber-optic network. Construction is currently expected to begin in Spring of 2025 after a cultural resource review, engineering design and permitting phases are complete. The first phases are underway.
When the new network goes live, residential customers will be able to access speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 50 Gig, the fastest home internet speed available in America. All Ziply Fiber plans offer symmetrical download/upload speeds and have no contracts or data caps. The company’s entry-level Fiber 100 plan, which at $20/month provides all the reliability of fiber at an affordable price, exceeds the minimum residential broadband speed required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Snohomish County’s Broadband Action Team works with providers like Ziply Fiber to develop projects and funding solutions for Snohomish County residents and businesses where broadband access has been historically limited. Ziply Fiber and Snohomish County have a history of working together effectively, having worked on a fiber-optic expansion project in Darrington and Highway 530 earlier this year.
“Civic partnerships like this represent a key component of our work to expand access to fiber internet across the Northwest,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber. “By working together, we now can bring fiber internet to more people in more communities and do it faster than either our company or the county could do on its own. I’m thankful Snohomish County and Ziply Fiber could come together to make this project in Index a reality.”
Funding for the fiber construction project comes both from private investment by Ziply Fiber and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds secured by Snohomish County. ARPA is a federal stimulus bill to aid public health and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal stimulus legislation provided flexibility for local jurisdictions to support expansion of broadband infrastructure.
“By bridging gaps in broadband access, we can help build opportunities for people in our community,” Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said. “The internet is important infrastructure in modern life and having reliable access can open the door for options in education, employment, and more. We’re grateful to be able to partner with Ziply on bringing broadband to more Snohomish County residents.”
“Ziply Fiber has said from the beginning that smaller towns deserve the same high-quality infrastructure and internet services as larger cities and we couldn’t agree more,” said Scott MacDonald, Index Town Councilmember. “You don’t always see that kind of commitment from big companies when doing business in a town the size of Index, but Ziply has been great work with, and we’re excited for our first residents to get connected in 2025.”
Today’s announcement comes at a time when more and more families and businesses need high-capacity internet to support the online needs of daily life in today’s world. With household data usage across the U.S. expected to double every year, Ziply Fiber’s advanced network gives customers the great speed and reliable service they need for everything they want to do online today and into the future. Ziply Fiber’s cutting-edge approach to fiber deployment recently earned it the 2024 Broadband Nation Award for Excellence in Fiber to the Home Deployment, highlighting the company’s commitment to delivering high-quality service to underserved communities across the Northwest.
What to Expect During Ziply Fiber Construction
Index residents can learn more about the work Ziply Fiber is doing and what to expect during construction at ziplyfiber.com/fiber-construction/construction-process. Ziply Fiber’s goal is to always leave an area in a condition as good, if not better, than it was before construction. If residents notice something has been missed, the company wants to know about it. Details can be shared at ziplyfiber.com/new-fiber-locations/construction-process/construction-feedback.
Ziply Fiber Investing in Index, Washington
The work in Index is part of Ziply Fiber’s commitment to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to build an advanced, 100-percent fiber network to both suburban and rural communities across the Northwest that have been underserved when it comes to internet access. The company believes that everyone should benefit from amazingly fast, game-changing internet, not just people in big cities. Ziply Fiber has been actively building fiber across the Northwest since June 2020 and continues to build and deploy new fiber-optic cables, local hubs, new offices, and new hardware to run the network as part of hundreds of projects across its 250,000-square-mile footprint. That’s how the company will deliver what its customers need and deserve as they learn, work, play and move into the future with ease.
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 Ziply Internet (DSL) customers, and its TV customers in Washington and Oregon. A full listing of products and services can be found at ziplyfiber.com.
About Ziply Fiber
Ziply Fiber is home to America’s Fastest Home Internet – 50 Gig. Called “America’s undisputed leader as the fastest home internet provider” and “the fastest internet provider nationwide” by CNET, and “The Fastest ISP in the Northwest” by HighSpeedInternet.com, Ziply Fiber is a local, Northwest-based company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, with 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, have lived and worked in the Northwest for the majority of their careers. That local ownership and market familiarity is an important part of the company mindset and culture. 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 continues to support Ziply Internet (DSL) customers, and its TV customers in Washington and Oregon. A full listing of products and services can be found at ziplyfiber.com.
About Snohomish County
Snohomish County is the third largest county in Washington State by population and brings together innovation and economic opportunity alongside breathtaking natural spaces. With more than 860,000 residents, and expected to reach 1 million by 2040, the county is growing and diversifying. Snohomish County government is working diligently to make this the best place for people to live, work, and play. Our mission is to meet opportunities and needs of Snohomish County’s residents efficiently, equitably, creatively, and collaboratively.