Island County and Ziply Fiber partner to bring fiber-optic infrastructure to Camano Island – Broadband Communities

Press Release

A new, high-speed, 100-percent fiber optic network is expanding to Camano Island in Washington, thanks to a partnership between Island County and Ziply Fiber.

News provided by: Ziply Fiber

Island County and Ziply Fiber teamed up on May 7 to connect homes and businesses to Ziply’s industry leading fiber-optic infrastructure, thereby greatly improving the speed, capacity, and reliability of internet service for the island’s north-end community. The Island County-Ziply agreement will provide fiber-to-the-premise construction to more than 100 homes and businesses on the north end of Camano Island. When construction is completed, residential customers will be able to access speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 50 Gig.

All Ziply Fiber plans offer symmetrical download/upload speeds and the company’s entry-level Fiber 100 plan exceeds the minimum residential broadband speed required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Following design and permitting phases, construction should begin later this year and be completed by mid-2025.

The almost half a million dollars in funding came, in part, from Ziply Fiber and a dedicated portion of a federal grant obtained by Island County through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

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.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be where we are today, on the cusp of building fiber to our agricultural and business community, as well as homeowners in North Camano,” said Janet St. Clair, Island County Commissioner, District 3. “It took a lot of work by a lot of people over several years to get here and everyone who has been involved deserves our thanks. This infrastructure will serve our community for decades to come and is just what our people and businesses need.”

Fiber critical to local business community

Early in the planning process, Tom Little, owner of Eagles Landing Airport Industrial Park, sent a letter to Island County Commissioners in support of bringing fiber to Camano Island. He wrote, “During the pandemic, my tenants found it virtually impossible to connect with their customers and prospects due to the lack of internet service. Having adequate connectivity will help our business expand its market reach. Simply having reliable connectivity will improve our ability to process payments, manage vendor accounts and satisfy our customer demand.”

“Ziply Fiber is proud to work with Island County and public entities that see the value that civic partnerships like this can bring to quickly enabling access to state-of-the-art fiber networks and services for local businesses and residents,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber. “We understand just how transformative that can be for them and we’re excited to get construction underway here on Camano Island.”

To get content like this delivered to your inbox, subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter.