High-speed broadband expansion connects Adams County

A major expansion of broadband fiber is now complete in Adams County, providing local residents, businesses, hospitals and libraries with access to high-speed Internet for the first time.

To celebrate the project’s completion, Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) and the Ritzville Public Library are hosting an open house on Friday, Nov. 9, from noon to 2 p.m. and inviting the community to attend.

The statewide broadband expansion project, a joint effort between local PUDs, private companies, ports, cities, counties and NoaNet, plugged the area into regional fiber networks by constructing cable from Davenport to Odessa and Ritzville. NoaNet is overseeing the construction of two federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act grants, totaling $140 million to bring high-speed Internet to mostly rural areas of the state.

“We’re just very excited about having consistently fast, high-speed Internet for our patrons. The benefits will be huge for everyone from online students watching class lectures to tech junkies trying to stream Pandora while downloading YouTube videos, to library staff offering reference help to the public” said Kylie Fullmer, director of the Ritzville Public Library. “And once it becomes more widely available throughout the community, I think people are going to be just as excited as we are.”

The open house event will give local residents and businesses a chance to learn about the project and how they can get connected to the new service.

NoaNet and local ISP representatives will be on hand, and dessert and refreshments will be provided. There will also be a video and other informational material available for those who want to learn more about broadband expansion projects underway.

NoaNet CEO Greg Marney believes the broadband connection will be a valuable asset for the region.

“High-speed broadband Internet expands the realm of possibility in rural Washington,” he said. “In addition to improvements to medical care, schools, libraries, government agencies, businesses and individuals, expanding broadband makes good economic sense by creating immediate jobs and attracting economic investment to rural areas.”

Adams County is part of a broadband expansion program that all-told will reach more than 170 communities and 2,000 schools, hospitals, emergency responders, libraries, colleges and universities, including:

• Connecting 34 community colleges, creating opportunities for collaboration on research and information exchange.

• Making remote diagnosis, enhancing professional training with reduced travel, and making it possible to provide immediate assessment and guidance to emergency workers via videoconferencing.

• Enabling businesses to use credit/debit card systems, automated inventory and fulfillment systems, and web sales that are not currently available or extremely limited today.

• Giving farmers the ability to participate in commodities trading – a key competitive disadvantage to the family farmer.

Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) is leading the effort on behalf of a consortium of more than 50 private, governmental, tribal and non-profit participants. NoaNet is a non-profit mutual corporation providing wholesale telecommunications transport and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash.

For more than 10 years, it has operated a reliable public open-access broadband network totaling more than 1,800 fiber miles that provides rural areas access to broadband services, supporting 61 last mile providers that serve more than 260,000 customers.