Ziply Fiber will expand gigabit broadband to 22 more markets later this year, the company announced today. The expansion will be concentrated in smaller and rural towns across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana this calendar year. Expansion will focus mostly on smaller and rural towns, as part of Ziply Fiber’s multi-year, $500 million investment in its network.
Ziply was born from Frontier’s Northwest operations when WaveDivision Capital bought those operations from Frontier for $1.3 billion.
“Since that time, the company has hired more than 400 new employees and has laid more than 1,000 miles of new fiber to help improve internet connectivity in rural areas to be on par with larger metropolitan areas, and has added thousands of customers onto its new fiber network,” Ziply noted in a press release.
The latest announcement comes just after the recent launch of fiber service in Moscow, Idaho, the company’s 17th new fiber market since it began its four-state fiber expansion last spring.
“The speed and reliability that fiber delivers to residents and businesses is critical in today’s online world where web conferences, online learning and streaming entertainment are often all happening at the same time, something outdated technologies were never meant to support,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber, in a prepared statement about the new Ziply gigabit markets. “We’ve spent the past year investing in and constructing an all-new, state-of-the-art fiber-optic network, purpose built to deliver symmetrical upload/download speeds to residents and businesses, and we’re thrilled to be able to announce the next 22 markets that will leverage these improvements later this year.”
In a prepared statement, Idaho Department of Commerce Director Tom Kealey said: “This important new announcement from Ziply Fiber is essential in expanding the digital footprint in Idaho and bringing new reliable internet connectivity to communities, residents and businesses across the state. This infrastructure investment will have positive, long-lasting results for their residents by providing digital learning opportunities, teleworking capabilities and telehealth. We thank Ziply Fiber for its investment in Idaho.”
