Ripple Fiber plans to expand into the state of Washington, the company announced this week.
The expansion will come in the form of a $250 million investment, with the initial project to begin construction in the next few weeks in the communities of Ocean Shores and Federal Way. This is Ripple Fiber’s first step in a plan to bring fiber broadband to more than 200,000 Washington homes in the areas of Grays Harbor County and King County.
The first customers should start receiving service sometime in the first quarter of 2026, the company said, adding that it plans to open a local office soon.
Washington offers an outstanding opportunity for this type of service, according to Ripple Fiber, which cited a Reviews.org report saying that nearly two-thirds of the state’s residents don’t have access to fiber internet.
“Ripple Fiber’s expansion into Washington state represents our network’s ninth state and a notable achievement for our growth strategy, reflecting the significant progress our team has made in building a coast-to-coast network,” company founder and CEO Greg Wilson, said in a prepared statement.
“As we approach the start of construction in the coming weeks, we look forward to serving as a catalyst for expanding digital access in communities throughout the state.”
Though Ripple Fiber didn’t receive any provisional awards from Washington in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, it did received provisional awards in North and South Carolina. In North Carolina, Ripple Fiber has provisionally been awarded $597,177. In South Carolina, the company was provisionally awarded $296,227.
South Carolina was among the first states to have its BEAD Final Proposal approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in November.
