Some 1,600 homes and businesses across Valley County will soon have access to high-speed internet through Ziply Fiber.
The Kirkland, Washington, company announced this summer that it has completed end-to-end fiber connections in several project zones near Donnelly, Lake Fork, and McCall.
“Construction is underway and we are on track to reach just over 1,600 locations by the end of the year,” Ziply Vice President of Marketing and Communications Ryan Luckin told Valley Lookout.
The first 700 locations came online in areas near Donnelly, which Ziply CEO Harold Zeitz called a “major step forward in empowering…world-class digital access.”
“From families to young students and small businesses to visitors, we want everyone in Donnelly to feel confident they can connect, create and thrive in today’s digital world,” Zeitz said.
The fiber upgrades mean Ziply will be able to offer speeds of up to 50 gigs, or nearly 50 times faster than previously available speeds.
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Eligible customers to be notified
Ziply plans to contact everyone who could receive high-speed fiber connections by mail, advertising, and events. This summer’s work generally encompasses Lake Fork, homes along the east side of Lake Cascade near Donnelly, and homes near Whitetail Club in McCall.
“We will be reaching out to all eligible residents, including our current customers on copper,” Luckin said.
The connections are the first in Valley County to consist entirely of fiber internet lines, which are capable of transmitting data many times faster than outdated copper lines.
Copper bottlenecks
Fiber has been installed for many years all over Valley County, but true high-speed internet remained unattainable due to copper lines connecting the fiber to data centers in major cities and to homes and businesses.
Now, Ziply has fiber lines running into Valley County. Work this summer, known as fiber-to-the-premise, is converting copper lines on private property to fiber lines—thus resolving the bottleneck that has long plagued internet in the region.
“We charge no installation fees,” Luckin said. “So, once an address is ‘fiber ready’ in our system, all a resident is responsible for is the monthly payment for the speed tier they select.”
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Grant funding key to expansion
The work is funded by a $9 million grant Ziply received from the Idaho Broadband Advisory Board. The areas selected for this year’s project were based on the requirements of the grant funding.
Grants help make it possible for Ziply to fund infrastructure improvements in smaller communities, Luckin said.
“Grants are part of our broader construction strategy to bring fiber to as many communities as possible, regardless of size,” he said.
Luckin did not have any details to share regarding further expansion of its fiber network in the region.
Ziply Fiber formerly operated as Frontier Communications, which in May 2020 sold its operations and infrastructure in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana.
The $1.4 billion sale was completed by WaveDivision Capital, a Kirland, Washington, private investment firm that serves as the parent company of Ziply.
Ziply announced plans shortly after the sale to spend $500 million upgrading its network to fiber across the four states it serves, with an emphasis on underserved rural areas.
