Background

Grant County Public Utilities District (GCPUD) first started investigating building out a countywide fiber optic system in March of 2000 when Washington State Governor Gary Locke signed Senate Bill 6675, allowing Washington's public utility districts to provide wholesale telecommunications services.

Process

GCPUD connected its first customer in July 2000 during its initial pilot program of 100 homes and 50 businesses. It officially rolled out the ZIPP Network in the spring of 2001.

ZIPP Network conducted two primary research studies. The first study, conducted prior to the start of the buildout, indicated that 20-40% would switch to the ZIPP Network. The second study, conducted after the initial ZIPP Network deployment (December 2001 and early 2002), found that 60-80% were interested in switching. Keeping up with demand for the network became critical. Today, ZIPP Network has over 1,600 customers connected.

Results

At long last, ZIPP Network has brought advanced telecommunications capabilities to a rural community in which some residents-even in this modern age-still did not have telephone service.

Grant County residents pay $40 per month (plus a small installation fee) for 5 Mbps of dedicated bandwidth delivering cable TV, telephone, Internet, and automatic meter reading services. The average homeowner typically spends roughly $85 a month on these same services.

Some might question whether a fiber optic buildout in a rural county is worth the price. Governor Locke believes such communities cannot afford not to deploy advanced telecommunications infrastructures. He said, "In today's world, many businesses will not even consider investing in a community that does not have high-power fiber optic cable, digital switching, and other infrastructure necessary for in-line communications."

Terry Brewer of the Grant County Economic Development Council agrees. "We anticipate that the high-tech industry and other advanced system users will look closely into locating in Grant County," he said. "The low cost of utilities paired with the best fiber technologies in the state will be a deciding factor for many of these companies."

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