Coming Soon: PT Business Area Fiber
As you may have heard, PUD fiber construction has been delayed a couple of times. The first delay was due to long waits for contracts and 
funding availability from the government post award. Now the delay is due to the time it takes to do the work, and to the PUD’s success in receiving grant funding. To date we have over $51M in funded fiber projects. We’ve won nearly every grant we’ve applied for and will be able to build fiber to just about every home in our electric service territory who’s confined to slow DSL, expensive satellite or cellular service, or in some cases, some or none of the above. As well as to businesses in Port Townsend- thanks to very low interest loan from the state Public Works Board.
Right now, our engineering design firm is working hard to map routes in the city. We expect to have plans completed and be out to bid by the end of the year. That means construction in the winter, when things are slowest, and the impact is hopefully lowest. We’ll be able to begin connecting customers as we move along. Service to businesses is simple and starts at $100/mo for a gig up and a gig down. That means your internet won’t slow when you have a bunch a folks on zoom, or have to upload large video files, or you’ve got a bunch of customers on Wi-Fi, and multiple connected credit card readers to run. Oh, and with that service you get a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi 6 router with ability to create and control multiple networks on it, a second mesh router to keep the signal strong everywhere you need it, and a fixed IP address for PCI compliance. We also have 3/3 and 5/5 Gig packages as well as enterprise options for direct connections and dedicated circuits.
Note: One unique aspect about PUD fiber is that the PUD doesn’t have to be the business that provides your internet. As a publicly owned utility, any qualified internet service provider that wants to can use the PUD’s fiber can do just that to connect you to the internet. If they have the service or technology your business needs, or you already have a relationship, use them! We’re working on getting interested providers qualified now. We’ll have a list of options in the coming months.