Westside provider Ziply Fiber launches on Palouse

Ziply Fiber’s “gig-speed” fiber internet service is now available to nearly 7,000 addresses in Pullman and Moscow as of Monday, according to the Kirkland, Wash.,-based internet, phone and television provider.

Dan Miller, a public relations representative for Ziply Fiber, said in an email that 4,000 of those residences and businesses are in Pullman and 2,900 are in Moscow. He wrote that it intends to build fiber for more than 21,000 addresses total in the two cities, including another 6,100 Pullman addresses and 2,100 Moscow addresses in May if it stays on its current pace.

Miller wrote that Ziply Fiber has tens of thousands of existing customers in Washington and Idaho, but he does not have city-specific counts.

Ziply Fiber CEO Harold Zeitz said most of the homes and businesses in Pullman and Moscow will eventually be able to use its new, state-of-the-art fiber-optic network that continues to be installed on the Palouse.

“It’s a big project,” Zeitz said. “It’s important that we not only build fiber in the area but we connect all of those locations to our core network which gives multiple routes back to the internet.”

Ziply Fiber acquired Frontier Communications’ Northwest operations (Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana) about one year ago. Ziply Fiber is investing $500 million over the next two to three years to build an advanced fiber network to smaller towns across the Northwest that have been underserved when it comes to internet access, according to a Ziply Fiber news release Friday.

Zeitz said Ziply Fiber is bringing “the fastest and the best” internet speeds to the Palouse.

He said the network Ziply Fiber uses enables it to deliver the same continuous speed to every home in a neighborhood.

“The way we designed the network, all of our customers are able to get that speed on a regular basis at peak periods of time,” Zeitz said.

He said Ziply Fiber’s goal over the next three years is to build its fiber network in about 85 percent of its Northwest footprint, which means enabling access to several hundred thousand homes per year during those three years.

Zeitz said the provider is planning fiber network installation in a few other Whitman County towns.

The news release said its internet service comes with no data caps and no annual contracts for residential users.

“We’re different because we’re really focused on combining this most advanced fiber network with a refreshingly great customer experience,” Zeitz said.

Those who wish to check their address for fiber availability, or who would like to sign up to be alerted when fiber internet is available at their home or business, can register at get.ziplyfiber.com/moscow or get.ziplyfiber.com/pullman.

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.